Wrath of the Imperator
by Electivecross02
Summary: A complete rewrite of my Age of Darkness story, now with a tighter focus, a more defined world, newer cooler names for the factions, a clearer beginning middle and end, and the ability to explore and do things I wanted to do with this but couldn't when I was wrapping up the original. Hope you enjoy the new direction!
1. Chapter 1

A new world has risen. All the people of Earth are subjugated under the rule of the Imperator. He resides at the center of his empire, a massive, walled off, utopian supercity called Abraxas, for those with the greatest wealth, known as the Pure. Those who do not, are known as the Imperfect, and reside in several suburban cities, known as the Commons, kept under surveillance by the Imperator's Elites, alien warriors known as the Sangheili. The lowest class are known as the Flawed, and are held in camps called the Pits that rest between the Commons, sleeping in tents and forced into meal plans, watched over by the Imperator's lower level soldiers. There were pale white reptilian humans known as the Locust, and mutated elvish warriors known as orcs. Everyone is given a designated number and barcode that keeps them all in a database that the Imperator can access.

Many believe in his ways, supporting his views. Others support out of fear of death. Others, mainly the Flawed, are against the rich and powerful, longing for the day someone will rise against the Imperator. But some, a select few hide away and form the Honorbound, a rebellion of heroes from many worlds, brought together by the Imperator fracturing reality from his initial takeover. Because of so many believing in the Imperator, they lie in hiding, waiting for every opportunity to strike. They are led by a masked girl who goes only by the name X.

The Imperator is aided by his second in command, a Sangheili named Thel Vadam AKA The Arbiter. The Imperator is fair and just to those who support him, but cruel towards those against him. Specifically one who he believes to be an Honorbound. He is eternally bound to a demonic entity known as the Darkness. A screeching beast of hell that grants him extraordinary power.

X exists as a face in the crowd, never revealing her face to even her closest friends, purely to protect herself and them. When she's outside the underground Honorbound base, she hides in plain sight, blending in with the crowds. There's only one thing she knows for sure. She will not rest until the Imperator is dead, and his empire is gone.

But the Imperator had other things to worry about. Amongst the supercity of Abraxas, there were tellings of an up and coming group of renegades known as the Phantom Thieves. They had placed their calling cards across the Commons, and even a card on his palace, which lies at the center of Abraxas. The symbol was a top-hat with a flaming masquerade mask underneath. Underneath was writing that read:

 **Imperator**

 **You've subjugated too many to hardship and strife.**

 **You cater to the rich, and deject the poor.**

 **One way or another we will make you pay for your crimes.**

 **-The Phantom Thieves-**

The Imperator sat at his throne looking over a hologram screen that displayed a photo of the wall this message was scrawled on. He wore silver armor, with black streaks created by the Darkness drawn along it. He also wore massive metallic boots, connected to a chest plate, all covered by a cape. He wore a hood connected to a cape that covered his face, the shadow of it accentuated by the Darkness. He looked at the photo, a slow resentment boiling in his core. Are they with the Honorbound? Who were these renegades? Why would they dare to say these things about him? What were they capable of? Where do they hide now? When will they make their move? How many ways would he make them suffer when he found them?

These thoughts were cut short with the intervention of the Arbiter. He knelt before his master, and spoke. "Your highness. I have some new information that may be pertinent to share.", he said. The Imperator sat up from his throne, walking forward towards the Arbiter. He spoke with a voice that still made the Arbiter shiver. It was low, and ever so distorted, but still eloquent and demanded respect. He said, "At ease, Arbiter."

The Arbiter stood up, and was face to face with his leader. The Imperator said, "Tell me what you've found."

The Arbiter took a tablet, showing recorded footage that was labeled HC-44. The Arbiter explained, "This was shortly before the card appeared on your tower." It showed 7 kids standing around each other. They were obscured by the low resolution provided by the camera, but the voices were clear. Only three voices were heard. One came from what appeared to be a small girl with long red hair. She had said, "I'm trying to hack the infrastructure. When it goes down, the south section of the wall will be down for 60 seconds without them knowing. They won't pick up any pressure or any disturbances. That's how long you'll have to get in, plant the card, and get back out. I think Skull should go in first." The group emitted murmurs of agreement. One girl further ahead of the camera and therefore unrecognizable said, "We should probably move again. Every moment we sit and wait is another moment he can track us down." As they left the camera view point, The Imperator said, "How come this is the first time we've seen them?"

The Arbiter said, "Well...it's like they said. They're constantly on the move, never staying in one spot for too long. This is the first time they've stumbled into one of our hidden cameras. What would you have us do?"

The Imperator reviewed the footage, and said, "Begin searching all the camps located near HC-44, and narrow it down to girls with red hair. Narrow it down to their hair length in proportion to their body height, then perform a voice test on the remaining group. Hopefully that should get us somewhere. When you do find them, bring them to me."

The Arbiter bowed his head and said, "Will there be anything else?"

The Imperator said, "I wouldn't mind a filet mignon from that one steakhouse."

The Arbiter said, "I'll get right on it, sir."

 **Abraxas**

Abraxas was a futuristic city as technologically advanced as it was repulsively decadent. There were floating transports that acted as buses, robotic servants that catered to the 1%. Everything had a shine from the sun above. Almost like it was so bright that it blinded those inside to the absolute hellscape that existed outside their walls. The Arbiter walked through the city, having to hold his hand over his eyes just to keep from hurting them. He arrived at the Abraxas steakhouse, walking inside. The server said, "You're a Sangheili." The Arbiter said, "That is correct."

"What can I get for you?"

The Arbiter said, "A filet mignon. For the Imperator."

The server smiled and said, "Absolutely. This one will be on the house."

The Arbiter reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a gold coin, and gave it to the server saying, "For your services." The server happily accepted the coin and went to the back to gain the order. While he waited, the Arbiter pulled out his tablet, now directly linked to Sangheili amongst the Commons. He began distributing orders to begin searching for females with red hair in the surrounding Commons. Just as he was finishing distributing the orders, the server returned with the food in a metal box. The Arbiter said, "The Imperator greatly appreciates your service." and left with the food in hand.

 **The Commons: Sectors 42, 43, and 48**

Sangheili soldiers were moving through the Commons, checking the various houses. Every single one was the exact same home. A two story house with three bedrooms on top and a living room, kitchen and dining room on the bottom. There were laws in the Commons that a family could have no more than four members, in order to keep population in check. In one home, a family with a father a mother and two sons, one 8 and the other 14, were sitting in the room, watching TV when the Imperator appeared on screen. "This is an announcement from Abraxas. I am beginning a search for a group of renegades called the Phantom Thieves. You needn't worry if you have no ties to them. These searches are all routine. Simply cooperate with the Sangheili, and everything will go smoothly. Attempt to escape, and we will assume your affiliation and you'll be arrested. Attempt to retaliate and you will be executed. Thank you for your cooperation." As the feed cut off, a knocking was heard at the door. The father walked up to answer, and found two Sangheili soldiers waiting. One asked, "I assume you've seen the broadcast. Is there any female living under this roof with red hair?"

The father politely answered, "No sir. My wife is the only female under this household, and she's a brunette."

The Sangheili soldier said, "Thank you, sir. Have a good day."

 **The Imperial Palace**

The Imperator sat at his own table positioned over his throne. A small tv screen extended from a robotic arm in the throne, allowing him to view the happenings across his empire. He was preparing to dine on his filet mignon while the Arbiter stood idly by. The Imperator said, "I'll tell you what, Thel, I do not hate the life I live now. Eating five star meals on a regular basis, observing the shining utopia that I own from the comfort and safety of my home."

The Arbiter said, "This is all your doing. You deserve all the rewards that come with it."

A young voice said, "And beware the consequences."

The Imperator and Arbiter looked up to see a boy, about age 16 with brown hair and wearing a brown suit and tie, with a briefcase in hand walk up to the Imperator. The Arbiter without hesitation drew a blaster and aimed it at him. The blaster had a horseshoe shape to it, with the curve being the handle and the endpoints connecting a line of electricity that was the muzzle. The Imperator said, "You have 30 seconds to explain who you are and how you got in here, or to leave."

The boy said, "My name is Goro Akechi. And you heart is in danger, your highness."

The Arbiter said, "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

Akechi said, "No. A warning. And an offer."

The Imperator moved the table away and said, "What kind of offer?"

Akechi said, "Protection."

The Imperator said, "I'm gonna need a lot more than that, kid."

Akechi explained, "The Phantom Thieves. They are planning a direct assault on the metaphysical embodiment of your heart. If they succeed, you will lose the drive to maintain your empire, or your will mind shut down altogether until you're a lifeless zombie."

The Imperator paused for a moment then began to chuckle. He said, "You expect me to believe that? Don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of strange encounters and happenings, but you sound like a damn mental patient."

Akechi said, "If you need me to prove it to you, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

The Imperator was a bit stunned at how quickly Akechi explained he had proof. He said, "Very well. I'll see your proof. But try anything, and I won't hesitate to kill you. Understand?"

The Arbiter said, "Are you sure about this, sir?"

The Imperator said, "I'll keep my eye on him to see if he tries anything. If I don't come back, track him down and tear him in half."

Akechi led the Imperator outside and said, "If you'll bear with me. One's first trip can be difficult to take in without a proper guide. I should know."

As Akechi pulled out a rectangular smartphone the Imperator asked, "First trip where?"

Akechi pressed a single button causing a wave of distortion to envelop them. The Arbiter ran towards them as the Imperator and Akechi faded and disappeared.

The Arbiter said aloud, "Where did they go?!"


	2. Chapter 2

The Imperator fell to his knees, dizzy at first. He slowly brought himself back to his feet and found the world was the same, but something was different. The sky was purple, there was a pulsating red haze around everything, the background was swirling and distorted. He said, "What is this place?"

He turned to Akechi and was taken aback to find that his appearance had changed. He know wore a body-covering, black and purple striped outfit. In this form, he had several black belts strapped around his legs and arms. He also wore a dark enclosed knight helmet, similar to plate armor, with a deep crimson mask resembling a sharp beak. The Imperator said, "And what the hell are you wearing?"

Akechi said, "This is the outfit that represents me in this world. The Metaverse. It's the physical manifestation of humanities corrupted desires. And this area of the Metaverse is Mementos. You see, every human being has a "shadow" here. These shadows represent their deepest desires and the corrupted evils they keep buried within. If a person's desires spiral out of control, they can form Palaces here, where they become the exact image they see of themselves, leading armies of shadows to do their bidding. Inside these palaces, there is a treasure. When this treasure is stolen and the shadow is defeated, the shadow returns to the human in the real world, the human loses their evil side, willingly giving themselves up to atone for their crimes. If the shadow is destroyed, they suffer a complete mental shutdown."

The Imperator said, "Two questions. One, what does this have to do with me? Two, does that mean you have a shadow too?"

Akechi explained, "I don't have a shadow. My shadow is my Persona. The Phantom Thieves and I unlocked an ability to turn our shadows into a will to fight. Our shadows form Personas, which are capable of fighting for us and granting us great power here. As for you, the Phantom Thieves are preparing to fight your shadow. If they kill it, you shutdown and die."

The Imperator yelled, "What?!"

"But not to worry. That's why I'm here! I am here to stop the Phantom Thieves and keep your heart safe from attack."

The Imperator said, "Wait. There's like 7 of them. Do you plan on taking them all on at once?"

Akechi said, "Not entirely. I'll have the support of your shadow. Because we're making this arrangement now, your shadow will reflect this and provide me with help. The shadows are not to be underestimated. They can be quite devastating if not treated with caution."

The Imperator responded, "That's why you came to me. You needed to ensure that my shadow would be there to help. Alright, Akechi. I'll buy this for now. But don't think this means you'll be without any supervision. Now, take us back."

Akechi said, "As you wish."

Akechi brought out his phone again, and waves of distortion engulfed them once more. Before long they were back in front of the Abraxas Palace, with Akechi back in his normal attire. The Arbiter noticed this and said, "What happened?"

The Imperator said, "Quite a lot of things. But Akechi is telling the truth. I want Sangheili to accompany him when it comes to protection. Also he stays here when he's not gone, and..."

Akechi interrupted after that last comment and said, "I-I-I'm sorry, what? 'Stay here'? Why?"

The Imperator said, "Don't take it personally. With a rebellion cell on the rise, and my very heart at stake, I can't afford to be too trusting. We'll alert your family right away."

Akechi said, "I actually don't have a family here. My mother committed suicide and my father is in prison because of the Phantom Thieves."

The Imperator paused at this and said, "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure your mother smiles upon you. And we will avenge your father by destroying the Thieves. But now is no time to grieve. Now is the time for action. Thel, take this boy to one of the open rooms and set him up there." The Arbiter bowed his head and walked Akechi to the indoors of the palace. The Imperator followed behind, sitting on the throne while they entered an elevator that closed. He activated the TV monitor again, as it extended and activated. He sifted through camera footage of the Commons and the Pits, with nothing particularly new or exciting happening. All he could think of was the Metaverse. How long had it existed? Why did the Phantom Thieves only make their move now? Could he harness that worlds power for himself? This thought was quickly cut short by a message appearing on his tablet. He opened it to find Sangheili and Locust soldiers. A Sangheili said, "We found her. She matched all the specifications and passed the voice test."

The Imperator said, "What's her name?"

"Her file lists her as Futaba Sakura. Age 16. Seems to be afflicted with social anxiety."

The Imperator said, "Were the other thieves with her?"

The Locust soldier said, "No. Only her."

The Imperator said, "Bring her here. I have some questions for her."

The soldiers nodded and the footage ended.

A screeching demonic voice erupted in his head, saying with an almost snakelike hiss slow and drawn out like it savored its own sound, "Yes. I will eviscerate her."

The Imperator said, "No! Not yet, anyway. I need information from her. And I'm keeping the lights on so you don't try anything."

The voice barked back, "Killjoy..."

 **Interrogation room**

A young girl with long red hair wearing a black tank top with a Tetris image in front, with a green tank top underneath, grey baggy pants with black laces on the bottom, and green sneakers was sitting alone in a wide empty room. She was tucked into a ball, terrified of where she was. Without warning, a door opened, the lights came on and the Imperator walked through. She shook at the sight of him, as his steps echoed through the empty room, until he was standing over her. She looked up from her fetal position, and jumped back when he suddenly lurched down into a crouching position. The Imperator said, "Do you know who I am?" Futaba, without even looking at him, nodded. The Imperator said, "There's no need to be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Futaba was silent, but finally said, "I... don't... know that."

The Imperator said, "Listen. I know the Honorbound rebellion spreads this rumor about me as some immoral monster. But that's not me. I don't want anyone to be in pain. Do you know why you're here?"

Futaba shook her head, still looking at the wall.

The Imperator sat down and said "I think you do. You've hardly looked me in the eye. You're here because you're a Phantom Thief."

Futaba still refused to look up at him. The Imperator said, "Futaba. I need you to look at this from my perspective. Consider this scenario. You and your friends change my heart and dethrone me. Then what? Another one rises to take my place. You keep working through them? All order collapses. Chaos ensues. My dethroning causes hundreds fo thousands to die from riots. I'm here because I need to be. I'm trying to maintain order. Yes, I can be a little extreme in my methods, but when the alternative is us devolving into savage war hungry animals, I don't think there's such thing as too extreme."

Futaba looked at the wall, still saying nothing. The Imperator said, "Why so quiet? You were pretty talkative here."

The Imperator pressed a button on his wrist, erecting a holo screen that began playing back the footage from HC-44. Futaba saw herself say, "I'm trying to hack the infrastructure. When it goes down, the south section of the wall will be down for 60 seconds without them knowing. They won't pick up any pressure or disturbances. That's how long you have to get in, plant the card, and get back out. I think Skull should go in first."

The Imperator ended the feed. "I get why you're scared of me. I'm not blind to my many detractors. But the last thing I want is more death. I only kill when I have to. So you can act like some monster is leering over you, but you and I aren't leaving here until I get the info I need."

Futaba, still looking at the wall, said, "If you don't want to feel like a monster, you should change your outfit."

The Imperator rubbed his eyes under his hood and said, "All I need are names. The names of the Phantom Thieves. And I swear on my mother and my father, they will not be harmed."

Futaba said, "But they'll be thrown in jail."

The Imperator said, "That's the nature of the beast, I'm afraid."

Futaba remained silent. The Imperator sighed and said, "I'm trying Futaba. I'm really trying not to do something I'll regret. But you're not making this easy. All you need to do is say their names. They're quietly moved to a prison camp, where they can still live their lives. We both win. And I have to win. Because if I lose, we all lose."

Futaba said, "I won't betray them, and I'm not talking."

The Imperator breathed a final sigh and said, "Fine. Let it never be said that I didn't try."

He slowly stood up and walked over to the corner of the room. As he did he said, "I said before that I'm not the immoral monster people have rumored me to be. That is still true."

He reached out and flicked off the light switch. There was a dim illumination coming glowing lines in the walls. He said, "The true monster is something I keep inside."

As he said this, his voice grew more distorted and even began to layer over the screeching voice in his head. This voice promptly said to him, "It's time to torture!"

A dark essence grew and morphed over his body, and two black snakes extended from his back. The one on his left had dull teeth and an under bite, with toothlike protrusions on its chin and cheeks. The one on his right had blades coming out of the top of its head, chin and cheeks and had razor sharp teeth as well. When they fully extended, the Imperator yelled, "Behold, the Darkness!" Futaba looked in horror screaming as he approached her. The underbite snake whipped out and grabbed Futaba by the shoulder pinning her to the wall, still connected to the Imperator's back. The teeth hooked into her shoulder and she grabbed it trying to pull it out. The other snake grabbed at her arm, biting down and drawing blood. She screamed in pain as the maws of the snakes increased in bite pressure.

The Imperator said, "Give me their names!"

Futaba yelled further in pain, but every second she was closer and closer to saying something. He dropped her on the ground, her arm and shoulder bleeding. She backed away into a corner now fully petrified. She tucked into a ball again, hiding away in the corner. The Imperator slowly walked forward, kneeling next to her and said, "What are there names?"

Futaba said, "I can't. I can't betray them!"

The left snake grabbed Futaba by the neck and threw her at the other wall. She grabbed her chest in pain, no doubt feeling a broken rib. The Imperator said, "This can all stop with just the names." The left snake shot forward and wrapped around her neck, lifting her in the air. It slowly tightened its grip. The Imperator said, "Last time. Give...me...their...names."

After a few seconds, and on the verge of passing out, Futaba finally yelled, "Ok!"

The Imperator finally dropped her. He said, "Go."

Futaba, now completely in shock at what she witnessed, began reciting the words, mentally broken. "Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, Haru Okumara, Makoto Nijiima, Yusuke Kitagawa, and Ann Takamaki."

The Imperator smiled under neath the shadow of his hood and said, "Thank you for your cooperation."

Futaba looked up and before she could react, the Imperator shot her in the head with a silenced pistol. Her body slumped on the floor, dead.

He stowed his pistol, now with new information prepared.


	3. Chapter 3

5 kids were sitting in an alleyway just outside the walls of Abraxas. There was one boy who had black hair, wore glasses, a white shirt, plaid pants, and black shoes. The other boy had blonde hair with a yellow tank top, plaid pants rolled up into shorts, and white sneakers. The other was a girl with peach hair that went down to her ears, wearing a light purple knitted sleeveless turtleneck sweater with a dark purple ribbon around her waist and white loose socks. The other was a girl with brown hair in a bob cut, wearing a black halter vest over a white shirt with a plaid skirt, black pantyhose, and black boots. The fifth was a boy with short blue hair, a blue polo, black pants, and black loafers.

The blonde haired boy said, "We can't wait much longer. We don't move soon he's gonna find us."

The blue haired boy said, "It's strange. Ordinarily they wouldn't take this long."

The brown haired girl said, "I know. That's what worries me."

The boy with glasses received a message on his cell phone and said, "We got a message from Panther."

He pulled it up as everyone took out there phones.

 **Panther: Hey guys. Is Oracle with you? I thought she might've headed out before me. I can't find her anywhere.**

 **Peach haired girl: No. We thought she was with** **you. You can't find her?**

 **Boy in glasses: If she's not with any of us...you don't think?**

Before the messages could continue, the group heard the Imperator's voice from beyond the wall. In Abraxas, he was sending out a broadcast to all the screens built into the buildings and jumbotrons. He said, "This is a special announcement. The rising fears of the criminals known as the Phantom Thieves end here. Just moments ago we apprehended one of them..."

The blonde haired boy said, "That's where she is. But how did he know who she was?"

The broadcast continued, "...And executed them."

The life almost immediately drained from the groups face at this revelation. The blonde haired boy yelled, "That son of a bitch! He killed her!"

The brown haired girl said to herself, "Futaba-chan..."

The broadcast continued, "This is not only an announcement but also a warning. Phantom Thieves. If you're listening...stay out of my way. End this pointless crusade. You already know what happens to one of you if you resist. Continue to oppose me, and the body count will only grow. I know your names. Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Haru Okumura, Yusuke Kitagawa, and Makoto Nijima. If I hear that you're continuing your rebellion against me, there will be no force on earth that will keep me from tearing you apart. This is your first and final warning."

The broadcast ended.

The group stood staring at each other. The blue haired boy said, "He...knows our names."

They resumed the messages on their phones.

 **Panther: Did you guys hear that?**

 **Blonde haired boy: That bastard. He probably tortured her to get our names then killed her when he was done.**

 **Brown haired girl: Guys. I don't think I can do this... We lost Futaba already and he knows our names. If he could figure that out, we might be in over our heads on this one.**

 **Boy in glasses: Queen, we can't wait any longer. If we do nothing, he'll find us. We have to make our move now. We're doing this. For Futaba.**

 **Panther: Joker's right. I'm not gonna let that bastard do what he wants and get away with it. We're doing this. Skull?**

 **Blonde haired boy:** **He tortured and killed our friend.** **I don't give two shits if he goes through a mental shutdown or not. I'm in.**

 **Joker: Fox? Noir?**

 **Blue haired boy: For Futaba.**

 **Peach haired girl: Let's bring down this tyrant.**

 **Queen: You're right. I'm ready to do this. Meet us outside his palace, Panther.**

 **Panther: Right!**

Joker closed the messages and pressed a red eye app on his phone. Waves of distortion engulfed the group, and they vanished.

 **Metaverse**

Akechi was in his Metaverse outfit alongside two Sangheili soldiers. They were waiting outside what looked like a rehab center. Akechi was now wielding a serrated sword, and a silenced pistol. One soldier asked, "What will the Phantom Thieves look like, human?"

Akechi replied, "They'll look like the only people out here who aren't us."

The other could barely make out the 6 of them in the haze. He said, "Is that them over there?"

Akechi looked in the same direction. He said, "That's them."

He quickly stabbed one Sangheili in the throat with his sword and shot the other one in the head, killing them both as the Phantom Thieves walked into view.

Joker wore an outfit that consisted of a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black jogger-style pants, brown-black winklepickers, and a pair of red gloves. His mask was a black and white, birdlike domino mask, similar to the one on the Phantom Thieves logo. He wielded a dagger with a handgun.

Skull wore an outfit that consisted of a matching black jacket and pair of pants with knee pads, a red ascot, combat boots, a pair of yellow gloves, and a metallic skull mask. He wielded a mace with a shotgun.

Panther, a girl with platinum blond hair in two ponytails, wore an outfit that consisted of a skin-tight red latex catsuit with a cleavage cutout and zippers, a matching red panther mask, pink gloves, dark red thigh-high boots, and a clipped on tail on the back of her catsuit. She wielded a whip with a machine gun.

Fox wore an outfit that consisted of a traditional kitsune-style half mask, a black high-collared puff-sleeved jumpsuit with a striped sash worn across his hips, white motorcycle boots and bright blue gloves. Attached to the jumpsuit was a white fox tail. He wielded a katana with an assault rifle.

Queen wore an outfit that consisted of a two-toned (dark blue and black) skintight suit that was worn with a long black scarf, a dark gray corset-style leather breastplate, shoulder and knee pads with spikes mixed with boots that sported metal heels and toes, white gloves and an iron mask. She wielded spiked brass knuckles with a revolver.

Noir wore an outfit that consisted of a dark purple cavalier hat with a feather plume tucked into a royal purple hatband, a long-sleeved pale pink blouse with a white neck jabot (held there by a red gem pin), a black corset vest with gold buttons, bloomers that matched her hatband, black pantyhose, a holster belt carrying ammo and lace-up pumps. Her mask and gloves were black and violet, respectively. She wielded an axe with a grenade launcher.

Akechi walked up to them and shook hands with Joker. He looked at them and asked, "Where is Futaba?"

Panther said, "Dead. That bastard killed her. And he knows all of our names."

Akechi's eyes widened. He said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. The Imperator has basically forced me to stay down here. He's very adamant about making sure you stay out of his heart."

Skull said, "Don't sweat it. It's fine."

Queen asked, "He doesn't suspect you, does he?"

Akechi said, "I don't think so. He sends soldiers with me to keep me under surveillance, but I think that's just him being generally paranoid. Are you ready to head inside?"

Noir said, "We're ready."

Akechi walked up to the door, and a robotic voice spoke, "Identity confirmed. Welcome, Goro Akechi."

The door swung open and the Phantom Thieves ran inside.

Inside the rehab center, there were various human beings, completely colored black with glowing red eyes. They were dressed up as orderlies, viewing various patients in a hospital. Most of the patients and orderlies looked the same, with a black haze slowly burning from them. The orderlies gaze was fixed on the patients, so they were able to walk by without being spotted. The orderlies were repeating phrases along the lines of, "You just need to follow the Imperator! He knows what's best. He can save you from being an animal!"

Skull said, "It's like he sees us as the crazy people."

Joker said, "He's delusional if that's the case."

"Oh...I think not, Akira."

The group turned a corner and found the Imperator. Except he was different. His eyes were yellow, his armor was golden and his cape eclipsed his whole body. This was the Imperator's shadow.

The shadow said, "So you're all here. Good. I was hoping to end this quickly."

Skull yelled, "You tortured and murdered Futaba, you piece of shit!"

The shadow laughed and said, "I did kill her. One less Phantom Thief to worry about. But I never tortured her."

The voice of the Darkness hissed overhead, "That was me." The Darkness enveloped the shadow, as the two snakes grew from his back.

The shadow said, "Futaba should consider herself lucky. It only took two bites and a throw to break her spirit. If she wasn't so weak, these things would've done so much worse."

Skull and Queen rushed at him, both screaming, "You monster!" Skull wound up a strike with his mace and Queen prepared a strike to his gut. The right snake slashed Skull across his arm, then the left one grabbed him by the neck, pinning him to a wall. While they were doing this, the shadow deflected Makoto's punch, jabbed her in the throat, then struck her in the face, sending her back then using the snake to throw Ryuji back as well.

The shadow, completely unfazed by this attack, said, "I'm gonna lay down some harsh reality. Humanity as a whole is screwed up. Before I came along, you were all on the verge of causing world spanning wars all in the pursuit of being right or proving your country was better than the other. It wouldn't have decided anything, it would just up the body count. Now that I'm here, there's nary a mention of war or genocide. I've corrected the world order. And I could not care less how savage or unjust I appear to be. The fact is my world law has been purely for the better. If you kill me, or change me, or whatever you do, I step down. Then what? The next leader comes along. Then the next one. Then the next one. It never ends, and it's just more bloodshed (i.e. the thing I'm trying to alleviate), and if my world order collapses, it's just chaos. People killing and slaughtering each other just to be on top."

Panther yelled, "What happens when you die of old age? Are we all just screwed then?"

The shadow replied, "I was speaking hypothetically when I said you could kill me. The Darkness won't even let me die. I never age, and no matter what wound you inflict on me in the real world, I'll always come back from it. In short, if you continue with this waste of a crusade you will only be held accountable for more death in the future. Is that you want? You are doing this for the people, after all. For some false sense of justice. Or maybe you're just here to avenge Futaba. If that's the case, go right ahead. I'm sure hundreds of thousands can die because you lost one little girl on your team."

Fox said, "Our world may not have been perfect, but it was hardly the hellhole you described it as. There may have been more conflict, but there was freedom. We made those choices. We had that right to make those choices."

The shadow said, "Every time you give someone a choice, they choose wrong. Every. Time. Humanity has had centuries to evolve past the primal need to kill and feel superior, and they never chose to. I'm not here because I want to be. I'm here because I have to be. Because I have to be the one with the balls to make the hard decisions. And if I'm looked down on as a monster for that...so be it."

The Phantom Thieves were shaken by the Imperator's resolve.

Akechi said, "You're insane. And we're going to end your tyranny of bloodshed."

The tendrils glanced at Akechi, whispering, "Akeeeeeeeeechi"

The shadow said, "I think we're done here. Remove them."

The Darkness said, "Yeeeeessssss."

A wave of dark energy rushed forward, pushing the Thieves out of the door.

The Darkness screeched, "AND STAY OUT!"

The doors slammed shut. Queen groaned and said, "What just happened?"

Skull said, "We just got our asses kicked."

Panther asked, "Why didn't you use your Personas?"

Skull said, "I don't know. The way he was talking about her. That condescending tone. It made me think back to Kamoshida. I didn't think before I rushed him."

Joker said, "We'll come back tomorrow. Things are a little too high-tension right now."

Akechi said, "I'd recommend getting some distance from the building before returning."

Joker nodded and the Phantom Thieves left. As soon as they disappeared into the haze, Akechi exited the Metaverse.

 **Abraxas Palace**

The Imperator sat at his throne, watching Akechi return. The first thing he asked was, "What happened to the Sangheili I sent you in with?"

Akechi said, "They unfortunately overestimated the strength of the Thieves and perished. I managed to push them back for today, but they'll be back tomorrow."

The Imperator sat still for a moment, unsettling Akechi by his stiff silence. After a moment he said, "Well, at least you're doing your job. Return to your room for today."

Akechi bowed and walked into the elevator, watched by the Imperator. Once it closed, the Imperator said, "You sure it was him?"

The Darkness said, "His attire was unmistakable. He stood with the Thieves! He called us insane!"

The Imperator asked, "Why would he go out of his way to join me if he was working with the thieves?"

"They needed someone on your side to enter your Metaverse palace. Someone who you trusted just enough to let into your distrusting heart."

As the Darkness spoke, the Imperator brought up his computer screen. He brought up a map of his kingdom, noting pulsating red blips that read 'Distortion'. Then he said, "Not that it will matter. That small distortion we've been picking up matches the one that appears outside my palace every time he enters and exits the Metaverse. Now I just wait until..."

A new blip appeared on the radar and he smiled, saying, "They line up like cattle for the slaughter."

He pressed a finger to his ear and said, "Arbiter. Send all available soldiers to a one mile radius search around these coordinates."

 **The Pits**

As the Thieves exited the Metaverse, they were making there way to a camp to sleep, but before they knew it, they were surrounded by Locusts and Orcs, with the Locust wielding scrap metal rifles called Hammerbursts, and the Orcs wielding clubs and swords. One Orc, speaking in a cockney accent, said, "By order of the Imperator, you lot are under arrest."

They slowly put their hands in the air dropping to their knees as the Orcs and Locust approached with handcuffs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Abraxas Palace**

The Phantom Thieves were handcuffed and on their knees, at the mercy of the Imperator, who was strangely absent.

Noir asked, "How did he find us?"

Queen said, "I don't know."

Joker said, "Everything's gonna be fine. We'll get a way out of this."

The Imperator dropped from the rafters above, startling the group with an audible thud. The Darkness snakes grew from his back, and he stood above the kneeling group. He said, "I warned you. I told you to stay out of this fight, and that if you interfere, nothing will stop me from tearing you apart."

Skull said, "Then why are we still alive?"

The Imperator replied, "Because, Ryuji, you're here for one final test. Second reason is that despite what you might think, I don't kill because I think it's cool. I kill when I have to. I already have you where I want you, there's no point in killing you."

Panther said, "That didn't stop you from killing Futaba."

The Imperator said, "That's where you're wrong, Ann. I killed Futaba because if I kept her alive, she would've been open to a rescue. I've gained info, but you lost nothing. Kill one of you, and it puts you at just the right disadvantage. I have all of you, so what's the point in more bloodshed?"

Queen said, "You can keep talking about how you want to prevent bloodshed, but face it. You kill and torture for fun."

The right snake shot towards her face, stopping right in front and screeching at her and scaring her. The Imperator laughed and said, "The Darkness doesn't like you, Makoto."

Noir said, "Please. Just let us go."

"I can't do that, Haru. You pose too great a threat to me empire to allow to roam free. There's too much at stake."

Fox said, "What's at stake is a cold monster ruining the lives of thousands for some delusions of peace. People don't live in peace outside of the walls of Abraxas. They live in fear."

The Imperator replied, "Yes, Yusuke, but fear is the only way you can get through to people. There hasn't been a single mention of war or violence. If that comes from fear, I say it's worth it."

The elevator opened and Akechi stepped out. The Imperator said, "Ah yes! Welcome Akechi! We've managed to capture the Thieves."

Akechi's eyes widened when he saw the Thieves, then he said, "I see. Is this why you called me up here?"

The Imperator said, "There is one other reason."

He pulled out his silenced pistol, handed it to Akechi, and said, "I want you to shoot Ren Amamiya in the head with this gun."

Ann yelled, "What?!"

Ryuji said, "Don't do it!"

He stepped back, allowing Akechi to walk towards Joker (whose real name was Ren), and he put the pistol right on his forehead, the rest of the Thieves yelling against it. Akechi smiled and said, "This is a familiar position."

The Imperator stood right behind him, urging him by saying, "Do it. Shoot him."

Akechi remembered something the Sangheili had told him about in the Metaverse:

 **(Once, I saw him get shot through the head. The entire top half of his head was gone. The worst thing that happened was that he was out of commission for a couple days...)**

Akechi took a deep breath, cocked the hammer on the gun, then whipped around, swinging the gun around, aiming it right at the Imperator's head. As he was a split second away from pulling the trigger, something flashed past him faster than he could see, cutting his hand off. A green energy enveloped him and the gun. The gun levitated back to the Imperator's hand as two figures appeared.

One was a petite woman with green eyes and green hair that naturally curved at the ends. She was in a black dress with long sleeves, and four high cut leg slits that showed off her legs and black high heels. She was enveloped in the same green energy as she floated down from the rafters as well.

The other figure jumped from the side at lightning speeds, revealing himself as a slim young man with an androgynous appearance. He had long black hair tied up in a topknot, and large gray eyes. Noticeable features of his were the purple marks underneath his eyes. He wore a tight black bodysuit highlighted by metal plating on his shins, arms, shoulders, chest, and waist, as well as a long purple scarf. He wielded a ninjato sword, stained with blood from cutting off Akechi's hand. Akechi was frozen in place, incapable of grabbing his arm in pain, now forced to deal with that pain.

The Imperator said, "Akechi, I'd like you to meet two of my lieutenants..."

He pointed to the telekinetic woman and called her, "Tornado..."

Then he pointed to the androgynous man and called him, "...and Cyclone."

The Imperator explained, "Did you think I wouldn't know about you're involvement with the Thieves? The Darkness, that you encountered there? It's the same Darkness attached to me. It remembers you aiding the Phantom Thieves. It remembers you being against me from day 1. This here was your final test to earn my trust, but you blew it because you had to get brave. Well, without you, the Phantom Thieves can't get into my Palace, so..."

He put the gun to Akechi's head, who couldn't talk as Tornado's telekinesis held his mouth shut. The Imperator said, "Goodbye."

Ren yelled, "No! Don't do it!"

The Imperator shot Akechi through the head, killing him as Tornado dropped his body to the ground.

Haru yelled, "Akechi!"

The Imperator sighed and said, "Cyclone, take his body to the morgue. Tornado, take them to the prisons in Commons section 3."

Makoto yelled, "You animal! You can't just walk away from this!"

The Imperator said, "And please shut them up!"

Tornado nodded and said, "As you wish, master."

Tornado lifted them into the air, flying out of the fortress with them in tow. Cyclone picked up Akechi's body and threw it over his shoulder, walking into the elevator while the Imperator walked back towards his throne. He sat upon it, saying out loud, "Huh. Now that I've dealt with the Phantom Thieves, I don't really have much to fight. I guess there's still the Honorbound, but they haven't made a move in nearly a year now."

The Darkness said, "They're waiting. They will strike. Do not let your guard down."

The Imperator said, "Didn't plan to, but thanks for the reminder."

 **Prison: Commons Section 3**

Tornado kept the Phantom Thieves in tow, keeping their mouths shut with her power. She came across the prison. It was a massive fortress with surface to air missiles built on the roof, guarded by Sangheili, robotic drones (humanoid white robots with singular eyes, and weapons built into their arms) guarding the entrance, and a watchtower overlooking the whole prison with two Sangheili sniper. Tornado floated towards the entrance as the drones scanned her. Recognizing her the bases doors opened, allowing her entry. She floated inside, which was a multi-level maze of cells, all surrounding a central courtyard where prisoners could eat, interact, and such. Watching over was a Sangheili who controlled the cells, and kept track of the prisoners via implants. Tornado found seven open cells, throwing each Thief inside their own individual cell. The Sangheili sealed them in as she released them. Ryuji immediately rushed the door, but it was useless. The door was made of reinforced glass, allowing him to still see Tornado despite being stuck in the cell. She smirked and waved at him mockingly, saying, "Enjoy the rest of your life in this prison, Phantom Thief."

She flew away, leaving the prison.

 **Unknown**

Underground, a group of people were sitting around a massive computer screen. One was a girl in a cape and hood, wearing a bird mask and armor similar to Makoto's metaverse outfit. She also was missing an entire arm, and wore a leather glover that covered the forearm.

Standing next to her was a man completely outfitted in a cybernetic body, complete with a sword hilt built into his back, and a metallic jaw. The only human part of him was the top half of his face sporting combed back, pale white hair. There was also a bandage covering his left eye.

Next to him was a girl, younger than the others. She had black hair, wore a green and white battle skirt, along with a green and gold headband. She also walked barefoot, and was completely blind.

Next to her was a man who had spiked black hair, wearing an orange and blue gi.

On the other side of the hooded girl was a man wearing green combat armor and a helmet with a large yellow visor. He also had an assault rifle attached to his back.

Next to him was a blonde girl in a tan jacket that exposed her midriff, with a black shirt underneath. She also had black mini-shorts with brown belts wrapped across her stomach and waist, shotgun shells stocked in them. She also had a pair of golden bracelets on her wrists.

Next to her was a woman that was completely red, with a black cube afro and triangular glasses. Her suit had a star painted over it, and cubic pointed shoulder pads. She also had two red gemstones, one in each of her hands. One had a triangle facet while the other had a square facet.

They seven of them were watching the computer screen, which showcased footage of a camera just outside one of the Commons sections. It showcased Tornado taking the Phantom Thieves to the prison.

The cyborg said with a somewhat gruff and scratchy voice, "Lotta noise for just some petty thieves."

The red woman said in an English accent, "These weren't normal thieves, they posed a legitimate threat. Otherwise he wouldn't have so many broadcasts assuring people they were captured or executed."

The blind girl said, "What is it that they do that's soooo important?"

The girl in the bird mask said in a slightly distorted voice, "I don't know. But I want to know. Any advantage we can get is a win."

The blonde girl said, "We're talking about breaking into a friggin' super prison. He catches a whiff of us getting near that place, he sends the Winds after us, and we all die or get captured. Tornado in particular is not someone we want coming after us."

The soldier in armor said, "I'm shocked, Yang. Usually you're the first one to want to get into a fight."

He gestured towards the man in the gi and said, "Same as Goku over there."

Yang said, "Hey. I'm all for a good fight. But not when it's blatant suicide. There's no way in there without getting caught first."

A low, robotic voice began speaking from the computer, saying, "Perhaps I can come up with something."

The girl in the bird mask said, "What do you have, BT?"

BT said, "Using my Vanguard Titan chassis, I may be able to deploy an EMP device. It will short out the cells and instigate a prison riot. This will be our prime opportunity to analyze the situation before making our move."

The cyborg said, "Woah. I don't know if I like that idea. Two things. One: that puts way too many of those prisoners at risk. There's too high a chance that our 'Phantom Thieves' could get killed in the chaos. Two: Half of those people are in there for a good reason. They're actual criminals and we're talking about releasing them as well as our guys."

Yang said, "So basically, what Raiden is saying, is that if he sends out men to kill, we risk losing the people we're trying to break out. If he sends them out to incapacitate, we risk murderers and vandals being set free."

The group sat in pondering for a while. The blind girl said, "I think we should do it. But someone needs to keep those guys, especially Tornado, off our backs while we're getting the Phantom Thieves out of the riot. I can do it!"

Goku said, "No way you're facing them on your own, Toph. I'll be there to help you out."

The soldier said, "I'll go in with X. She and I can find them and get them out of there."

X was the girl in the bird mask. She said, "Alright, John. Raiden, Yang and Garnet should be there too. In case Cyclone or the other Winds of Destruction show up."

Raiden and Yang nodded.

X said, "So that's the plan. BT hits the base with an EMP and shuts down the security to trigger a riot. While John and I are extracting the Thieves in the chaos, Raiden, Yang, Garnet, Goku and Toph will hold off the Winds and any other soldiers sent after us. Everyone got that?"

Everyone nodded with murmurs of agreement.

X said, "Alright. Let's do this."


	5. Chapter 5

**2 miles from Commons section 3 prison**

BT was stomping into position. His AI was now transferred into a 20ft tall robot. It was a massive green body with double jointed legs, four fingered hands, and a single blue eye on the chest. There were shoulder based missile launchers attached to his back as well as a chain gun that he could wield. He knelt to the ground and said, "In position. Ready to deploy EMP device."

 **Skyscraper overlooking prison**

X and John were kneeling on the roof of a skyscraper, looking down and preparing to jump into the prison. X said into her earpiece, "We're in position. Remember, after the EMP keep your distance and don't shoot. If you do, Tornado can throw your bullets and bombs at us. Just keep an eye out and provide overwatch."

BT responded, "Copy that. Fire EMP and maintain no-fire overwatch from distance."

X said, "Alright, we're in position. Raiden, is your group in position?"

 **Underground**

Toph had used her power of bending and shaping the earth to burrow herself, Raiden, Goku, Garnet, and Yang. Raiden said, "We're ready. Just say the word."

X responded, "Shut this place down, BT."

BT said, "Copy that. Engaging EMP."

The launchers on BT's back extended upwards and outwards, attached by robotic limbs to his back. They unlocked and fired two small discs that arced over the two miles, landing right in front of the prison. They beeped and exploded, sending out a massive pulse that shut down the lights and drones in the prison. Within minutes, all the cell doors unlocked and the prisoners burst out tackling the Sangheili and instigating the riot.

On the skyscraper, John said, "It's showtime."

John and X leapt off the skyscraper. John was able to survive with his armor, landing on the roof with an audible thud. X extended her cape, using it to glide down harmlessly. X reached into the back of her belt and pulled out a cutter that she used to carve a hole in the roof. She and John jumped inside, landing on one of the top levels. X said, "Alright. Let's head to the control room and figure out where they are."

X and John ran across the rafters and came up to the door in the control room. Inside they heard a Sangheili yelling, "Can anyone hear me? Damn it. EMP must've fried the comms."

Chief pulled out his assault rifle, kicked down the door and unloaded on the soldier, killing him. X ran to the computer and began searching through the names. She filtered the list to only the most recent, and found only the Thieves names. She clicked find all, and found that they were all sticking together in the northeast corner of the prison, close to the exists, possibly waiting for an opening to escape. X said, "Found 'em."

 **Abraxas Palace**

The Imperator sat at his throne looking at footage from all the cameras, when the list for cameras in the prison died. He tried tapping them, but only received the error message, "Not found."

He said, "That prison is under attack."

He contacted Tornado and said, "Tornado. There's a riot going on and the Honorbound are attacking. I need you and Cyclone to drive them back. Bring Vortex along too. Please quell the riots quietly."

Tornado said, "As you wish, master."

 **Prison**

BT continued to survey the situation. He soon saw three figures flying in the distance towards the prison from the left. He said, "Warning. I'm detecting three signatures heading for the prison. One is a class 12 psionic signature. Tornado is on her way."

In the air, Tornado was flying while holding Cyclone and Vortex in tow. Vortex was a young man with blonde hair. He had black eyes with yellow irises and a completely cybernetic body. He wore a sleeveless hoodie that showed off his robotic arms with sweatpants and boots.

Tornado said, "About time we had some excitement around here."

Vortex said, "Don't get too excited. Our goal is to quell the riots. Not take on the entire resistance."

Cyclone said, "It's not like we aren't strong enough to."

A drop ship suddenly flew next to them. It had two hover engines and two side doors. One of them slide open and a man with completely cybernetic body stepped out. His design reflected a ninja, with a massive face plate covering everything but his mouth. He also had long white hair, and his body was composed of various sections kept together by magnetism. He also had two sai in his hands.

Tornado said, "Monsoon? What are you doing here?"

Monsoon said, "The Imperator thought you might need some extra backup. That's why I'm here with Sundowner."

Tornado rolled her eyes and pressed on.

BT said, "Warning. Dropship is inbound alongside Tornado et al. Possible support."

X and Chief were running along the balcony on the top floor overlooking the chaos. X said, "Raiden, get ready. Tornado's coming. And she's got help."

Underground, Toph opened an exit above the group allowing them to leap out and stretch their legs.

Garnet closed her hands, and summoned a pair of cylindrical gauntlets from the gemstones in her hands. These gauntlets completely enclosed most of her forearms.

Yang swung her arms back and her bracelets unsheathed and extended into gauntlets that enclosed over her wrists. There were also barrels built in to the edges around her knuckles, which she loaded with the shotgun shells on her belt.

Raiden unsheathed the sword from his back. It was mostly smooth and sharp with an electrical current running through it. He also activated a metal combat mask that covered his eyes and nose leaving only his mouth.

Goku powered up, creating a yellow aura of energy around him, while spiking his hair upwards and turning it yellow.

Toph simply cracked her neck and knuckles, and readied for the fight.

The drop ship hovered overhead as Monsoon dropped down with Sundowner. Sundowner was a massive man, almost obese. He also was a cyborg like monsoon, but his body was not magnetized. Rather he maintained a size somewhat similar to a sumo wrestler, but with muscle mass built into the cybernetics. He had six shields collapsed over his back, giving him an appearance similar to a Japanese shogun. In the two bottom shields, he kept two giant machete swords.

Sundowner said to Raiden in a southern drawl, "Longtime no see, Jack."

Monsoon said, "You don't think we've forgotten our last encounter do you, Jack the Ripper?"

Raiden said, "Monsoon and Sundowner. Last time I saw you I was cutting you into too many pieces to count."

Sundowner said, "Things are gonna go a bit different now this time, Jackie Boy. Ol' Imperator wants this riot quelled. He doesn't care how."

Vortex said, "You have two options. Fight us, or just leave and never return. I highly recommend you do the less painful option."

Tornado said, "Or don't. I'm fine with killing you rather than just capturing you."

Vortex said, "We just want to quell the riots and maintain peace for the Imperator. Just walk away quietly and we can forget this..."

Toph suddenly yelled, "Are you still talking?"

Cyclone said, "I'll shut the brat up."

Garnet said, "You're not going anywhere before you go through us."

Tornado began to glow green, smiled, floated into the air and said, "Let's have some fun."

Cyclone dashed forward at lightning speeds towards Toph preparing to slash her. Raiden jumped in the way and blocked it with his sword.

Yang fired off a shotgun blast from her gauntlets rocketing her forward towards Monsoon. The visor covering his eyes slid down to cover his mouth and nose as well.

Sundowner drew his swords as the shields clicked into place guarding his sides and a mask clicked over his nose and mouth leaving only his eyes and ears, and charged Garnet.

Goku flew forward and grabbed Vortex flying into the air with him.

Tornado began levitating pieces of rubble and trash firing them at Toph. She moved her hands creating a shield of rock from the ground. She then stomped the ground creating massive boulders that she punched forward to send them at Tornado. She stopped them mid-flight and sent them back to Toph, who punched it back to her and while it was flying towards her she created a pointed rock formation that swerved around the side and managed to strike Tornado in the face. Toph said, "Yes!"

Tornado, now with a gash on her face and furious, gathered tons of metallic rebars and rocks and began firing them at rapid speed at Toph, faster than she could shield them, forcing her to back up as fast as she could, sliding the earth underneath her to move faster. While she was backing up she created another rock formation under Tornado, knocking her further into the air. Fully enraged, Tornado flew down rapidly towards Toph, lifted her in the air with her telekinesis then slammed her into the wall of the prison.

During this, Raiden was clashing with Cyclone. He was flashing back and forth across Raiden faster than he could see. He dashed rapidly from behind but Raiden was able to turn around quickly and deflect the attack with his sword. This pattern continued at increasing speed, with Raiden occasionally getting cut and scraped in his legs and arms. He looked to his side to see Toph getting overwhelmed by Tornado. Consuming power from power cells in his body, Raiden was able to slow his perception of time while hastening his speed, giving him a clear bead on Cyclone, who was running and jumping in circles. Raiden jumped in the way of his dash clotheslining him with his arm. Cyclone immediately shot up and began rapidly slashing at Raiden who had no problem predicting and blocking his attacks. He found an opening and delivered a slash to his chest. He then kicked him away and ran to Toph's aid.

Raiden tried to perform a slash on top of Tornado but she stopped his arm in place. In her overconfidence she forgot to freeze his other hand. He dropped the sword into his free hand and managed to get a cut off. In that moment Raiden dropped to the ground and used the opportunity to try and get another swing in. Tornado didn't make the same mistake twice, holding his whole body in place. When Toph recovered she managed to hit the ground, creating a rock formation that hit Tornado in the back of the head and stumbling her forward , leading to the now free Raiden delivering a superman punch, knocking her out.

While this was happening, Yang was battling Monsoon. She swung a strike to his chest, but he disconnected the upper half of his body from the lower half, kept stable thanks to magnetism and swayed it back and forth dodging Yang's attacks. The legs sprang up and began kicking at Yang rapidly, using roundhouse kicks and back kicks. She managed to block and dodge them, but the upper half came from behind to stab her. She grabbed the kick from the legs and turned around to grab the arm before it stabbed her. She threw them into each other then blasted them away with her gauntlets. The scattered pieces then morphed together into a whirlwind rushing Yang and knocking her back. They doubled back and hit her in the back, before forming together into Monsoon's full body. He kicked Yang into the air, then shot up to stab her in both her shoulders with his sai, flip her over so he was on top of her then kicking her back into the ground. Clinging to the side of a building, Monsoon began summoning old machinery, wreckages of old tanks and cars (some old and some new) and yelled, "Magnetic force, little girl! Nature's force!" Yang jumped up and shot the gauntlets to the ground, propelling her out of the way. She ran in a circle as Monsoon threw the tanks and cars at her, evading the explosions. She jumped into the air shot forward and punched through a car. She attempted to hit Monsoon but he disassembled to doge it then reassembled behind her to kick her back into the ground.

Garnet was blocking and deflecting Sundowner's sword swipes, just holding her arms up to block them. She took advantage of an opening and attempted to hit him in the stomach, but he slid a shield and it unleashed a small explosion, knocking her back. She aimed them down and fired them off, turning them into rockets that exploded against Sundowner blocked. Sundowner laughed and yelled, "I'm fucking invincible!"

Goku was flying through the air with Vortex. Vortex charged energy in his hands and let off an energy blast that eclipsed him. Goku landed on the ground, only slightly scratched up. Vortex rocket boosted from his back and legs, flying to Goku. He then jumped into the air rocketing downward to strike Goku in the head. Goku held two fingers to his head and vanished, instead appearing atop Vortex and slamming him into the ground with so much force that he caused a shockwave and some small explosions. Vortex ignited another energy blast and Goku countered by charging a blue energy blast in his hands. He yelled, "kamehame-"

He thrust his hands forward, yelled, "-ha!" and a blue beam of energy shot out of his hands, clashing with Vortex's. Goku's was far stronger and managed to blast Vortex into the ground, erupting another series of explosions.

The Imperator contacted Sundowner and said, "I've got a hundred reports of multiple explosions, property damage, noise complaints, people complaining that their cars are gone. What is going on down there?! "

Sundowner said, "Those Honorbound pigs are here. And we're engaging them now."

The Imperator sighed, rubbed his eyes and said, "Is anyone even in the prison right now?"

Cyclone was standing up clutching his stomach wound and said, "Not...currently."

The Imperator said, "How weird. I sent you to be in the prison and regain control of it, yet here you are not in the prison and now it's my ass that's on the line paying for all of it. You were sent in incase Tornado needed to restrain the Honorbound while you dealt with the prisoners. I said to stop the riot, not create a fucking war zone!"

Sundowner said, "We're planning on getting that job done..."

The Imperator said, "Forget it! We'll get the prisoners back together. This is already a PR nightmare. Let's not make it worse. I want you all back at base. NOW!"

Monsoon said, "We've almost got 'em, sir!"

The Imperator said, "You've done enough damage to my reputation for one day. I wanted you to quickly and quietly deal with this mess and you couldn't do that. Drop whatever you're doing and return to base. I'm sending a drop ship to pick you up. Do not make me repeat this order."

Sundowner yelled, "Everyone! We're falling back. Orders from up top! Somebody grab Tornado!"

Toph said, "That's right! You better run! Not surprising we beat you. Rock is stronger than wind."

Monsoon said, "This isn't over, little girl. Nature will run its course, and see you scattered like dust in the wind."

Vortex slowly picked himself up, barely powered, but functional. The drop ship flew overhead to pick them up. Monsoon grabbed Tornado's unconscious body and slung it over his shoulder as they all boarded the drop ship.

Raiden said, "This is Raiden. X, the Winds of Destruction just retreated. Orders from the Imperator."

X said, "Fantastic. We've got the Phantom Thieves and are about to exit from the main entrance now."

The main doors opened and X walked out with John, Ren, Ryuji, Ann, Makoto, Yusuke, and Haru. X said, "Phantom Thieves. Meet the Honorbound. BT, we're done. Take us home."

BT said, "Initiating teleport now."

An electrical field began to engulf all of them and they vanished. The same happened to BT.


	6. Chapter 6

**Underground Honorbound base**

The Phantom Thieves were sitting with the Honorbound, recuperating. Ann said, "Thanks, for freeing us."

X said, "It was the right thing to do. Plus, the Imperator was hellbent on getting you ever since those cards started popping up."

Toph said, "We want to know why he was so interested in you. What can you do?"

Ren explained, "Where we're from, the Phantom Thieves are heroes. We protect people by changing the hearts of evil people to make them fess up to their crimes and seek punishment for their own actions."

Raiden said, "How do you do that?"

Yusuke explained, "There's another dimension called the Metaverse. It's a world manifested by the corrupted desires of humanity. Every one has a shadow, but when a person spirals out of control and turns evil, their shadow gains a personal palace. If we go into this palace and find their treasure (which represents the core of their desires) we can steal and destroy those desires, leaving only the crimes they've committed and their own guilt."

Yang said, "That's...freaking awesome! So go do that more!"

Makoto said, "We can't. Not anymore. When we were in the Metaverse, we found that the Imperator's palace was locked by a gate. It represents his own outlook, so we assumed only those close to him could enter. We sent in a friend, Goro Akechi to befriend the Imperator and offer protection from us, so we can gain entry. But that entity, that demon, that's latched onto him saw Akechi in the Metaverse and here. And the Imperator killed him. Without Akechi we have no way inside his palace. And I doubt he's willing to risk letting anyone he doesn't already trust get close to him. We're stuck right now."

Goku said, "So we can't even do anything right now, huh?"

Ryuji said, "Nope. Unless you guys know somebody close to him, we can't access his palace."

X said, "Then we're back at square one I guess. You guys can stay here. We have some rooms set up for you to stay in for now."

Ren said, "Thank you."

John said, "I saw on the broadcasts that the Imperator executed one of you. Was that Akechi?"

Ann said, "No. That was someone else. Futaba Sakura."

Toph said, "Who?"

BT chimed in from the computer screen and said, "Accessing files. Futaba Sakura. Age 16. Declared: deceased. Cause of death: gunshot to the head."

X said, "BT! What have I taught you about tact?"

BT said, "Tact: Adroitness and sensitivity in dealing with difficult issues. My apologies for my lack of tact."

Ryuji said, "It's alright. The second we get a way into his palace, we're gonna make him pay."

Garnet said, "Until then, you should probably stay here. It'd be best for you to lay low until the chaos above us blows over."

Makoto said, "I actually have a question for BT. Mainly who are these guys with super powers that work for the Imperator?"

BT said, "You are most likely referencing the Winds of Destruction. They consist of seven members."

A picture of Tornado flashed on the screen. BT said, "This is Tornado. Real name: Tatsumaki. Age: 28. A wielder of high levels of psychokinetic powers. Able to manipulate anything with her mind. The central leader of the Winds of Destruction and the most dangerous."

Toph said, "Can't be that dangerous if me and Raiden beat her."

The picture switched to Vortex. BT said, "This is Vortex. Real name: Genos. Age: 19. A cyborg warrior. Capable of massive energy outputs that rival most nuclear weapons. The diplomat of the Winds of Destruction."

The picture switched to Cyclone. BT said, "This is Cyclone. Real name: Speed O' Sound Sonic. Age: 25. A ninja warrior, capable of moving at speeds faster than a human eye can track. The assassin of the Winds of Destruction."

The picture switched to Sundowner. Ann said, "Wait. Who is that? We've never seen this guy before."

BT said, "This is Sundowner. Real name: Unknown. Age: Unknown. A cyborg soldier similar to Raiden, built purely to absorb damage. The explosive shields allow him to deflect any and all attacks. The tank of the Winds of Destruction."

Raiden said, "These next guys he's gonna show us are all guys I've fought and beaten before. They were the original Winds of Destruction. We had heard talk among the camps about these guys. But this is the first time he's officially sent any of them out. Before it was just Tornado, Vortex and Cyclone."

The picture switched to Monsoon. BT said, "This is Monsoon. Real name: Unknown. Age: Possibly 60. A cyborg soldier, built on magnetism. Capable of disassembling and pulling his body apart at will while still maintaining control of every section. Also wields magnetic energy. The soldier/support of the Winds of Destruction."

The picture switched to a new picture. This was one of a woman with dark skin and red hair. Her cyborg body had hundreds of arms extending from it, with red markings along her body.

BT said, "This is Mistral. Real name: Unknown. Age: Possibly 50. A cyborg soldier built on battlefield control. Commands legions of drones that can be used for combat support and arm reconstruction. Also wields a spear made out of those arms. The battlefield control specialist of the Winds of Destruction."

The picture switched to a new picture. This was one of a man of Brazilian descent. He had a black pony tail and a fully cybernetic body, save for the face. His right arm was armored and he had a red sword and a hilt on his belt with a trigger on it.

BT said, "This is Jetstream Sam. Real name: Samuel Rodrigues. Age: Unknown. A cyborg soldier, who possesses enhancements on only the right arm. The rest is a cybernetic exoskeleton. Deadly with the High Frequency Murasama blade and even deadlier when combined with the hilt, which can fire the sword out at high speeds to cut through any material. The strongest swordsman and cyborg of the Winds of Destruction."

Haru said, "So, Sam, Monsoon, Sundowner, Mistral. You've met them all before, Raiden?"

Raiden said, "Yeah. I'm still trying to figure out how the Imperator put them back together and got them on his payroll."

 **Abraxas Palace**

Tornado, Vortex, Cyclone, Sundowner and Monsoon were standing facing the Imperator, who had the Darkness snakes active. He said, "I just want you to know that I'm not mad. Just really annoyed. All I wanted was the prison riot taken care of quietly. If you had to fight the Honorbound, fine. But not one of you thought it would be a good idea to do what I ordered? And all of you thought using civilian's cars as ballistic missiles was a good idea?"

Tornado said, "It wasn't what you ordered, but we would've finished them off if you hadn't called us home."

The Imperator said, "You were unconscious at that point. Clearly you wouldn't've."

Cyclone said, "What's the big deal? You can just tell people we don't work for you."

The Imperator said, "That's not the problem here. The problem is that I'm sending out broadcasts everyday with promises of safety and peace. Then not ten minutes later, explosions are going off, people are missing cars, there's noise and explosions. Innocent civilians put at risk. How do you think that looks on me, the fact that I couldn't protect people from that violence and collateral damage?"

Sundowner said, "I don't mean to be rude, but why the hell did you send us out there in the first place? You told us to deal with the Honorbound!"

The Imperator said, "And to quell the riot. QUIETLY! Clearly regular soldiers weren't gonna do anything. I needed specialists. But after I got those reports, I had to call you back. I thought it came naturally to not intentionally break buildings and throw cars at people! I had no idea how long it would be before you started using civilians as projectiles. You know what? I specifically said to do it quietly. I take back what I said at the start. I am mad. Mad that now the Phantom Thieves are free, most of the prisoners are on the run and now in addition to the Honorbound coming out of hiding after nearly a year, I have to facilitate the repair of the prison and go around recapturing the hundreds that I kept there. So thank you. In trying to help solve one problem that you most likely would've failed at, you've created many many many more problems. Until further notice, the five of you are grounded."

Tornado yelled, "WHAT?!"

She started to glow and tried to grab the Imperator with telekinesis, but the snakes were unaffected, the left one shooting forward and grabbing her by the throat. The body wrapped around her arm and the Imperator said, "Don't ever try that again. I brought you here to follow my orders. If you don't like them, that's not my problem. You still have to follow them. Try to attack me again, and I break the other one."

Tornado asked, "The other wha..."

She was cut off by the snake twisting her arm backwards, breaking it. It dropped her to the floor, grabbing her arm in pain. She used her power on it, snapping it back in place.

The Imperator said, "I repeat. You are all grounded. Take yourselves to your quarters and remain until further notice. And take yourself to sick bay, Tornado to get that arm looked at."

Tornado got back to her feet and joined the group in the elevator. When it shut, the Imperator said to himself, "I'm putting a more nuanced and capable soldier on the job."

He pressed two fingers to his ear and said, "Hey Sam? You're up."

 **Honorbound Base**

The Resistance were hiding out, interacting. X and Raiden were fencing. Despite only having one arm, she was capable of keeping pace with him and defending his attacks. Raiden said, "Good. Just remember, you can be patient. Just wait for precisely the right opening then you can make your strike." X pushed Raiden's sword out of the way and managed to tag him with the tip of her sword. Raiden smiled and said, "Just like that."

Garnet and Yang were sparring, not using their weapons and only their bare fists. Goku was watching and said, "Good. But don't keep yourselves too planted. Stay light on your feet. Keep your strikes quick. You already can break mountains, you don't need to wind up your attacks."

Ryuji said, "I don't like this. I don't like just waiting around without doing anything."

John said, "That's the best we can do right now. We don't bring down the Imperator with an assembled bomb, but a thousand cuts."

Ryuji said, "What happens if the cuts keep healing?"

John said, "Well, everybody's got a weak link. We just keep cutting until we find it, and everything else comes crashing down."

Ren walked up and asked, "So how did all you guys meet?"

John said, "It was actually pretty early into the invasion. Were you guys here for that?"

Ryuji said, "Nah. We got pulled in a bit late into the game. We didn't start our Phantom Thieves business until after a month when we figured out what happened."

John said, "So your reality got pulled in while his empire was built? That's odd. Most of the realities that got pulled together were either during or before the invasion, not after."

Ren said, "Whatever our reality had, he must've found it at that point and pulled us together."

John said, "During the initial invasion, I was still trying to figure out where I was. I didn't recognize the cities or the landmarks. Then the sky turned dark and Covenant supercarriers began warping down. So when the invasion happened and I saw Sangheili with mutant elves and albino lizard people, it didn't exactly help with the confusion. I fall back, and Raiden is the first one I meet. The two of us made our way and found a place to hide out. I don't much, but Raiden apparently tried to fight the Imperator, but it didn't end well. Over the years all we could do was idly watch while this new world formed around us. It started with Abraxas. Then his control expanded from that. I don't know how he does it, but there's a rumor that he's come up with a way to vat grow soldiers and pump them out like a factory line. There's never a shortage on soldiers because of that. After he establishes control, we meet Garnet and Yang. Their story was more or less the same. They tried to fight, but got outnumbered and overpowered, then they hid out and could only watch. Then it was Goku and Toph. And finally it was BT and X. She lead us to form the Honorbound."

Ryuji said, "So all of you started in pairs."

"Our first big move was the destruction of a munitions facility. We managed to bring it down and leave a message. After that it was the little stuff. Convoy disruption, intel gathering, scouting, spying, and the occasional "save the people" mission. This has been going for a few years now. But after a while, we had to get more cautious. His soldiers were getting tougher, there numbers were greater, and we were stagnant. We put a lot into saving you, so it wasn't exactly good news to find out you couldn't do anything."

Ren said, "We're sorry we can't be of more help."

John said, "It's no worries. He's a lot smarter than any of us are prepared to deal with."

Ren said, "Not just him. That entity he's bound to."

Ryuji said, "The Darkness."

John looked up and said, "The what?"

Ryuji said, "You don't know about it?"

John said, "I know what it is. I never knew that's what it was called. You said it spoke to him about your friend Akechi?"

Ren said, "It's got this scratchy snake voice that shook the palace when it spoke."

Ryuji said, "It's what gives him his power."

John said, "I knew that much. Raiden said its mainly what kicked his ass when he tried to fight the Imperator."

Later, Yusuke and Haru were talking to Garnet and Yang. Yusuke said, "You body seems of odd proportions and colors. What are you?"

Garnet said, "I'm a Gem. We're beings from beyond this planet."

Haru said, "So you're an actual alien?"

Garnet said, "Yes. I'm part of the Crystal Gems. We fight to protect the planet from any threats, including our own homeworld, who tried to destroy all the life on this planet to support their own growth and conquest."

Yusuke said, "When this is over, I must paint a portrait of you!"

Garnet said, "You're an artist?"

Yusuke said, "Art was my passion before the world was taken over. There is much beauty and vice and I intend to put it all on the canvas."

Garnet said, "When this is over, I'd love to see what you come up with, Yusuke."

Haru said, "It's very nice to be able to talk normally. Every time we talked before we had to stay on the move and talk about plans and things."

Yang said, "Don't get too comfortable with this, Haru. We still are fighting a war out there. I do get what you're saying, though."

Haru said, "So where are you from, Yang?"

Yang said, "I'm from a place called Remnant. I go to school at Beacon Academy where I'm training to be a Huntress. Me and my friends work together to battle these monsters called Grimm. After my entire school got pulled in, we were under attack by the Imperator. Tornado tore our whole building apart without any effort. Everyone scattered and I haven't seen them since. I'm still trying to find my sister. She's out there somewhere and I have to find her and bring her back here."

Haru said, "Wouldn't she be in the Imperator's database?"

Yang said, "No. She never got rounded up into any of the Pits or the Commons. She's out there hiding and probably terrified."

Yusuke said, "There's no doubt in my mind we'll find her soon."

Yang said, "Thanks. Until then, we just keep waiting for that one weak link."

At the same time, Ann and Makoto were talking to Toph, Raiden and X. Ann asked, "So you're name is Toph?

Toph said, "Yep. That's my name."

Makoto asked, "How are you able to see if you're...blind?"

Toph explained, "It's all part of my skill. I'm an earth bender. I can sense earth, rock, dirt, and all of that, and move and bend it how I want. I also can pick up vibrations in the earth through my feet. I can pick up you, your friends, and a bunch of people in the nearby towns."

Raiden said, "It's like echolocation on a bat, or sonar, but with vibrations in the ground instead of just sound or computer monitors."

Toph said, "Where I'm from, we don't have all these 'robots' or 'computers'. All this is new to me. Maybe it's a good thing I can't see it. I don't think I'd understand it for a second. And Raiden's no help with all his 'cyborg' and 'power cell' talk. It's like he's speaking a whole other language."

Raiden said, "I could try and teach you but you never want to listen."

Toph said, "Because you make it really boring!"

X said, "Ladies! Ladies! You're both pretty, now please shut up!"

Ann said, "What about you, X?"

X said, "I'm here to bring down the Imperator. That's all you need to know about me."

X walked to the computer screen.

Ann said, "She's really cagey about that, isn't she?"

Raiden said, "Nobody really asks her about that. And when we do she says it's not important."

Toph said, "She's weird, but she's good at fighting. So I guess it doesn't matter."

Makoto said, "Anyway, I was asking Toph about her sight because it could actually really work in helping other people who suffer from blindness, teaching them how to pick up on those vibrations."

Toph said, "Maybe, but I've been doing this since I was 6. It takes years to get to the point where you can pick up when someone's lying."

Ann's eyes widened and said, "You can pick up when someone lies?"

Toph said, "Yep! When you tell a lie, you're heart rate increases. I can pick up those heart beats and can sense when they go faster to find a liar. I've haven't had to use it since I've been here, but it could come in handy one day."

BT suddenly spoke up. He said, "Be advised. I've detected Jetstream Sam making his way through the Pits. Most likely making a search for us."

Raiden said, "I'm on it."

X said, "Be careful, Raiden. The Imperator could've altered or upgraded Sam since you've fought. Garnet, you go with him for back up."

Garnet said, "Alright."

Raiden said, "Ok. I'll at least try to send him retreating back to Abraxas for now. BT, bring us out!"

An electrical field engulfed Raiden and Garnet, and they vanished.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Commons**

Jetstream Sam was casually walking his way through the Commons, his sword in its holster. On top of one of the houses were Garnet and Raiden, watching him. Garnet said, "What's he even looking for?"

Raiden said, "Any sign of us. And he's not gonna stop. We at the very least gotta drive him back to buy us some time."

Garnet said, "Let's wait until he's out of this neighborhood. I don't want to put innocent lives at risk."

Before long, Sam had left the Commons making his way to an open field that had no houses or Pits camps. Just a single road connecting it. And a golden sunset.

Raiden and Garnet were walking behind him. He chuckled and said in a Brazilian accent, "So is this a good spot, Jack? No houses. No people. Just us. Like the last time we fought."

He looked behind at Raiden and Garnet. Garnet said, "So you're Sam. I thought you'd be taller."

Raiden said, "What's your game, Sam? Why are you helping someone like the Imperator?"

Sam said, "Is that how you greet me? I'm hurt, Jack. I thought you'd be a little happier to see me." He shrugged and continued, "Take your pick. He's giving me a reason to fight, a place to stay, mind control, he's forcing me to, he's paying me. All I know is it gives me a chance to have some fun!"

Sam grabbed and pulled out his sword. It had a curvature to it and glowed red with a pulsating red electrical current going through it. Garnet activated her gauntlets and Raiden pulled out his sword.

Raiden said, "Watch yourself, Garnet. Be ready for any tricks he pulls on us."

Sam said, "Ok. Let's dance!"

Two metallic plates slid over his face covering his mouth and nose while Raiden's face plate slid over his face covering his eyes and nose. Garnet held her fists at the ready.

 **Music - The Only Thing I Know For Real - Metal Gear Rising Revengeance (OST)**

Garnet launched herself forward and attempted to strike him in the head. He sidestepped the strike as she slid across the ground. He tried to stab her in the back, but she blocked it with her gauntlet. Raiden rushed in attacking him from the back, but Sam blocked it with his sword. When Garnet tried to hit him again, he slid under Raiden's legs and kicked him into Garnet. The two quickly recovered and attacked again. Raiden jumped up to attack from above while Garnet struck from down low. He twirled to the side dodging Garnet's hit and cutting her in her midsection.

Raiden redirected himself as his body let out a small energy pulse from his feet changing his direction as he fell towards Sam. Sam blocked and parried the strike, kicking Raiden in the stomach. Garnet charged him and began punching at him multiple times. He gained the upper hand blocking each strike with his sword.

He grabbed one fist with his hand, blocked the other fist with his sword, and said, "This is intriguing. I sense conflict in you. A strange duality."

Garnet said, "You don't know who or what I am."

Sam said, "Still, your skills could use some work."

Sam head butted Garnet, knocking her to the ground, then tried to slash down on her, but Raiden rushed in and blocked it, sweeping Sam off of his feet and knocking the sword out of his hands. Sam quickly recovered and looked back at it and laughed. "Show me a good time, you two!", he yelled. He raised his hands, as Raiden charged him. He grabbed the sword between both his hands, kicking Raiden in the knee, then shoulder bashing him in the head, yanking the sword out of his hands. He threw it to the side, forcing Raiden to fight with his hands as well. Garnet's arms began glowing, extending in length as she started shooting them out at near machine gun speed. Sam was able to block and deflect them with both his hands and elbows efficiently, grabbing one arm and pulling Garnet in, clotheslining her to the ground.

Raiden came in for a superman punch, but Sam was able to to block it with the palm of his hand, throwing Raiden to the ground then kicking him away. Garnet rose up and pulled on Sam's leg, lowering him for a massive punch to his chest, which sent him towards his sword.

He quickly grabbed it, locking it into the holster. He placed his left hand on it, readying it over the trigger. Garnet leapt forward, Sam focused everything, and pulled the trigger. At the speed of a bullet, the sword flew out of the holster, he grabbed it with his right hand halfway through its shot, and used its momentum to cut right through Garnet as she charged through it. Her body suddenly exploded into a puff of smoke, leaving only her two gemstones. Except one was a dark red and the other was blue.

 **Music end**

Sam grabbed both the gemstones in his hand and said, "This has been fun, Jack. But I've gotta take my leave. Send your compadres my regards."

Sam began running the way he came, Raiden attempting to pursue him, but he was too damaged from the fight.

Raiden yelled, "Get back here, Sam!"

X contacted Raiden and said, "Raiden, BT's saying your vitals just dropped. What's going on?"

Raiden said, "He got Garnet. I can't chase them. My body's losing power as we speak."

X said, "Damn it..."

Raiden said, "You weren't wrong about him being stronger than last time."

 **Honorbound base**

X said, "Just hang on. We're bringing you back in."

BT said, "Standby."

Yang said, "We can't just leave Garnet behind!"

John said, "We don't have a choice."

Goku said, "I can go after them."

X said, "No. I know where they're gonna take her. We just have to wait for now. Trust me."

An electrical field activated behind them, and Raiden appeared from it, on his knee and supporting himself on his sword. Ann and Makoto ran to him to help him to his feet. BT said, "Damage is superficial. Easily reparable. But you have suffered significant power failure. I recommend taking some time to recharge."

 **Abraxas Palace**

Jetstream Sam presented the gemstones the Imperator, kneeling down and holding them up above his head towards them. He said, "For you, your Highness. These were all that were left when I defeated one of them. Garnet was her name I think."

The Imperator grabbed both of them in each of his hands and said, "Ah yes. The gem. When gems take fatal damage to their physical form, they retreat into their gemstones to regenerate. Unless..."

A blackish purple bubble formed around each of them from his hands. He said to Sam, "...you keep them confined in a small space. And what was the damage?"

Sam said, "Minimal. I kept them in one of those open roads like you demanded."

The Imperator laughed and said, "Good. This is the work I wanted to see from the other 5, but they prefer a hammer. I prefer a scalpel. Excellent job, Sam."

He pressed the tops of the bubbles and they vanished. Sam asked, "Where did they go?"

The Imperator said, "Not important. You're free to return to your quarters or walk around or do whatever you please for now. I'll call you again when I need you."

Sam shrugged his shoulders and started walking out the door.

 **Abraxas**

Sam was walking around Abraxas. There were rich citizens drinking champagne in restaurants on the streets, many apartments buildings and penthouses, all accessible by floating transport ships floating around. People also drove around in fancy lamborghinis and walked around, traffic directed by more robots. The restaurants were tended to by robots and the ships were all moving on predetermined AI routes. There were screens posted on various buildings in the city square, which showed various texts and screens that sent messages of their place in the Imperator's paradise. All the rich decadence of the city and the wealth meant little to Sam. He just continued to walk through the city, alive and bustling around him.

A feminine French voice suddenly yelled to him, "Hey, Samuel!"

Sam looked behind him to see Mistral. She was wearing a full coat, covering her cybernetic body. She said, "I heard you defeated an Honorbound. _Impressionnant_."

Sam said, "Yes. How did you hear about that? I only told the Imperator 5 minutes go."

Mistral said, "One of my drones was watching your fight."

Sam said, "So you've been watching me."

Mistral said, "Perhaps."

Sam said, "What do you want?"

Mistral said, "Nothing _mon amie_. Only to say congrats."

Sam was cautious but accepting. He smiled said, "Alright then. Thank you, Mistral. So where are the other Winds?"

Mistral said, "Grounded. You probably haven't heard. They failed to quell a riot in a prison, and caused heavy collateral damage."

Sam said, "I can see why he wanted me out of the city to fight them."

Mistral asked, "So which one was it?"

Sam said, "I don't know her name. She had red skin, an afro, glasses, magic gauntlets. The Imperator called her a Gem."

 **Abraxas Palace Green room**

Tornado, Cyclone, Sundowner, Vortex, and Monsoon were sitting in a large room called the green room. It was green along the walls. There were several chairs and beanbags, two beds, and some desks. Tornado was levitating in the air (her arm in a cast), Monsoon was crouching on the corner of the desk, Sundowner was sitting in a chair, Vortex was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, and Cyclone was leaning against the wall.

Tornado yelled, "It's not fair! We should be out there crushing the Honorbound."

Vortex said, "Oh be quiet, Tornado. We are simply facing punishment for our misconduct."

Cyclone said, "You are such a Boy Scout."

Vortex said, "I'm just saying you guys did go out of your way to destroy everything around you."

Sundowner said, "I distinctly remember the saiyan grabbing you and throwing you hard enough to cause just as much destruction as the rest of us."

Vortex said, "And that's my fault...how?"

Sundowner said, "Exactly. Our methods may not be pretty, but they were working."

Vortex said, "Maybe for you. Some of us were actually losing the fight. It was for the best that we retreated. Whether or not he cared about collateral damage, we still would've been forced into retreat anyway. We shouldn't have underestimated them. Especially you, Tornado."

Cyclone said, "I agree with that last part. We did underestimate them."

Monsoon said, "That won't be a mistake we make the next time."

Tornado said, "Assuming there is a next time."

Vortex said, "If we do what he says we'll be back out in no time. Just try not to complain. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we get ungrounded."

Tornado simply said, "Hmph."

Sundowner said, "Son of a bitch."

Cyclone asked, "What is it?"

Sundowner said, "Jetstream Sam just took one of them down."

Vortex said, "Wait, how do you know?"

Sundowner said, "I'm still tapped into his communications. Mistral and Sam are talking about it."

Monsoon asked, "Which one was it?"

Sundowner said, "The Gem. He took down my kill!"

Vortex said, "Interesting. We should ask him his tactics when we're back out there again."

Sundowner said, "Fuck that."

Vortex said, "What?"

Sundowner said, "I'm done sitting here and waiting. I'm gonna find Sam, ask him how he found the Honorbound, and killing them myself."

Tornado said, "I'm in. I can't wait here any longer."

Monsoon said, "Yeah, me too."

Cyclone said, "They humiliated me. I'm going."

Vortex said, "I'm staying. I actually have honor and discipline. And the intelligence to not..."

Tornado said, "UGH! Let's go. I'm gonna tear my ears off if I have to listen to his patronizing jibber jabber."

Sundowner, Tornado, Monsoon, and Cyclone left the room.

Vortex said to himself, "Let it never be said that I didn't try."

 **Abraxas**

Sam and Mistral were sitting in a restaurant, waiting for their food. Sundowner walked inside and yelled out to Sam, "Hey, Sammy boy! I got some questions for you!"

Sam looked to see Sundowner by the entrance. Sam said, "Sundowner?"

Mistral said, "I'd see what the _bœuf_ wants, or he'll never leave us alone."

Sam walked over to Sundowner and said, "What do you want, Sundowner?"

Sundowner said, "The Honorbound. How did you get them to come after you?"

Sam said, "Nothing. I just walked out into an open uninhabited area, and they came to me. Word of warning, if you couldn't beat them last time, I wouldn't recommend going out looking to challenge them again."

Sundowner smiled and said, "Duly noted."

Sundowner walked outside where Tornado, Cyclone and Monsoon were waiting. Cyclone said, "So how'd he do it?"

Sundowner explained, "We just gotta walk to an unpopulated area, and they come to us."

Monsoon said, "It'll keep that collateral damage low and we'll bring them in for the Imperator."

Cyclone said, "I say we split up. We each go to a different area. Then one of two things happens. They attack us one at a time, and we summon each other for help. Or they spread themselves to hit us all at once. If that happens, we help whoever's nearby to beat them, and work our way back to square one."

Sundowner said, "I like the sound of that. Let's get started!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Honorbound Base**

X was clicking on her utility belt.

Goku said, "Is there a reason we can't come with?"

X said, "I've gotta go grab Garnet by myself. I'll be fine. Just hold things down until I'm..."

BT said, "Alert. Multiple contacts detected. Winds of Destruction. ID: Sundowner, Tornado, Monsoon, and Cyclone. They're maintaining position in unpopulated areas."

John said, "They're calling us out. They want a rematch."

Toph said, "Tornado is mine!"

Goku said, "I've got your back."

Yang said, "I got Sundowner."

Raiden said, "I'll get Cyclone."

John said, "I guess that leaves Monsoon for me."

X said, "Ok. I'll got get Garnet back, while you guys take on the Winds. I'll be back soon, so just hold it together."

John grabbed his assault rifle, and loaded it. John said, "We got this."

Ran spoke up and said, "Wait! Maybe we can help too."

Everyone looked at the Phantom Thieves.

Ren said, "We might not be able to change the Imperator's heart as of now, but that doesn't mean we can't change anyone."

X said, "What are you saying? You can change them to our side?"

Makoto said, "We're saying we can find out what made them turn to his side and at least discourage them from doing any more evil."

Goku said, "That's better than nothing."

X said, "Ok. I'll go and grab Garnet, you go to the Metaverse and see what you can do, the rest of you hold off the Winds."

 **Commons section 20 and 21 joint road**

Tornado was floating in place and saw Goku flying in while Toph was shifting the earth underneath her to move and keep pace with him. Tornado took notice of Toph specifically, and sneered. Toph and Goku stopped in front of her. Toph said, "Hey Tornado! You're looking nice after the last time I beat you to the ground! How are those injuries healing up?"

Tornado said, "I underestimated you last time, blind girl. I won't screw up again. The addition of the saiyan numbskull doesn't change anything."

Goku said, "Hey!"

 **Mementos**

The Phantom Thieves were in their thieving attire, preparing to enter a dark subway. Ryuji said, "I wish we still had Morgana with us. I'm not looking forward to walking."

Ren said, "The first target should be Tornado. Her real name is Tatsumaki. She's the most dangerous."

Yusuke said, "I'm ready."

The group walked into the subway.

There was a dark residue on the subway, as the railways twisted and curved away, distorted and morphed. The railways also split into endless pathways. Ren was able to track his target on his phone. They turned a corner and saw the railings disappear into a red portal. Makoto said, "This is it."

Ren said, "Let's try not to rush in like last time."

The group walked inside, and entered a sectioned off room. Inside this room, a shadow of Tornado sat alone. She looked identical to Tornado, but had a black and purple haze around her and yellow eyes. Her voice was distorted as well. She said, "Welcome, Phantom Thieves! Come to grovel at my feet?"

Haru said, "We came to change your heart. And fix whatever the Imperator did to you."

The shadow laughed and said, "Fix me? You say that as if he broke me. He made me perfect!"

Ann said, "What are you talking about?"

The shadow replied, "I serve the Imperator by any and all means. And for resisting his new world order, I sentence you to..."

Another voice broke through. It was Tornado's voice. She said, "help...me..."

The shadow shouted, "Quiet! You serve him.", only this time it sounded a little bit more like the Darkness.

Makoto said, "What was that about?"

Ren said, "I heard its voice. The Darkness. Hold on, Tatsumaki. We'll get rid of that corruption."

The shadow yelled, "Come then! FACE YOUR DEATH!"

The shadow began to glow purple, igniting fire all around them.

 **Music - Last Surprise - Persona 5 (OST)**

Ren walked through the fires without issue and said, "Come to me. Arsene!"

He grabbed his own mask, and a blue fire overtook him. Erupting from that fire was a demonic creature, dressed in a red version of Ren's thieving attire. He also had a flaming smile and top hat. Ren held his hand out and Arsene fired a blast of dark red energy. The shadow raised a shielding of rocks and debris to block it, then threw them at Ren.

He shouted, "Scatter! Queen, go!"

Makoto grabbed her mask and yelled, "Johana!"

A blue fire engulfed her, transforming into a motorcycle underneath her, with a metallic face in the front. She drove it forward, blasting through the rocks in an explosion of blue energy, but the shadow stopped it with telekinesis. Yusuke, who was running along the walls grabbed his mask and yelled, "Attack, Goemon!"

From Yusuke came a Japanese warrior, with makeup reminiscent of ukiyo-e paintings. He had a massive cigar/pipe combo with an axe on the end, and wore an extravagant outfit. Yusuke jumped forward and Goemon followed his movements, attempting to slash down on the shadow. She barely saw it coming and only could move a piece of debris in the way. She was knocked off balance, freeing Makoto and allowing her to drive by, striking her in the face with her spiked knuckles. Ann grabbed her mask and yelled, "Take it, Carmen!"

Ann summoned a flamenco dancer, who wore a massive pink dress, and had her hair done exactly like Ann's. She also had two small men with hearts for heads at her feet and a vine whip around her dress. She threw it out, grabbing at the shadow, pulling it towards Ann. The shadow grabbed Ann by the shoulders and pinned her to the walls with a collection of bricks and stones.

 **Commons section 20 and 21 joint road**

Tornado began to glow, summoning chunks of the ground and metallic pieces of road dividers. They twirled in place and formed into makeshift spikes. She yelled, "Die!"

Goku and Toph scattered to evade the coming shards. Goku started firing ki blasts from one side, but she quickly evaded it, grabbed him with her power and threw him into the ground, pinning him there with two shards into his shoulders. He yelled as blood dripped from his shoulders. Toph tried attacking with a rock stalagmite but Tornado stopped it, created an energy shield around herself, and pushed through it. Toph evaded and jumped to the side, dodging Tornado's charge. She created a rock wall and shot it forward at her, but Tornado stopped and threw it overhead behind her. Toph created rock clamps to wrap around Tornado, but she stopped them in place, shot them at Toph and clamped them around her entire body, drawing in more metal and ground rubble to restrain both Toph and Goku. She said, "I told you, I wouldn't underestimate you."

Toph kept attempting to blast the rocks apart, but her body was too restrained to do anything. Goku exploded a blast of energy from around his body, his hair turning blonde and spiking upwards. He flew from the crater in the ground, vanishing for a split second and reappearing rapidly all around her. This distraction allowed Toph to break free, throwing another rock attack at her. She quickly stopped it and threw it around her, hitting Goku in the chest and allowing Tornado to grab him then grab Toph, lifting them both in the air, slowly crushing them.

 **Mementos**

The shadow was still engaging the Phantom Thieves. Ryuji jumped into the air and shouted, "Blast her away, Captain Kidd!"

Ryuji summoned a fiery pirate captain with a cannon arm riding on top of a pirate ship. It fired a bolt of lightning from above, hitting the shadow while Ryuji smacked it in the face with his mace. This caused a black mist to fly off the shadow temporarily. It looked up and said, "Help me!"

The mist quickly retook its position and the shadow started fighting again.

Haru yelled, "Milady!"

Haru summoned a floating victorian dress with an empty mask floating over where the head should be. From the dress, a loadout of machine guns, mini-guns and rockets was unsheathed. They fired a torrent of b, and the shadow brought up rubble and ground to block the shots. While Haru fired away, Ryuji said, "There's some sort of weird smoke around her."

Makoto said, "That Darkness mist must be what's controlling her heart."

Ren said, "The Imperator must be using it to control her."

Ryuji said, "When I hit her, I knocked it off for a second."

Ann said, "That's it! Skull: You knock it off, and the rest of us can destroy it."

Ryuji said, "Right!"

Ren said, "Fox, Noir. You two keep it busy."

Yusuke said, "I'm on it! Persona!"

Goemon appeared again, and fired a blast of ice from his hands, freezing the rubble as the torrent of bullets from Haru tore through them. The shadow immediately grabbed both of them and threw them into the ceiling. By looking up, she didn't notice Ryuji running up to her, smacking her with the mace. The mist blasted off of her, but before it could reattach, Ann summoned Carmen, and she unleashed a stream of fire, Ren fired another cursed blast of energy with Arsene, and Makoto drove through it, leaving behind another explosion of blue energy. It screeched, "NO! You dare defy me?!", before fading away.

 **Music end**

 **Commons section 20 and 21 joint road**

Tornado continued crushing Goku and Toph, but suddenly a sharp pain hit her head. She grabbed it in pain, dropping to her knees and dropping Toph and Goku. Her eyes turned pure black, until they faded back to their natural color. She stood up only to see a rock flying at her, knocking her unconscious.

Goku said, "What was that? With her eyes and stuff? Think that was the Phantom Thieves?"

Toph said, "I don't know. I can't see her eyes."

Goku, remembering Toph was blind, said, "Oh right! Sorry!"

X contacted them and said, "Goku. Toph. What is the situation?"

Goku pressed two fingers to his ear and said, "Hey, X! We got her. Something happened with her though. I think it was the Phantom Thieves."

X said, "Bring her back to base. We have a containment device prepared."

Toph said, "Wait, what?! We're bringing her back?!"

BT said, "There is no cause for alarm. We have the means to keep her restrained."

Toph said, "If it doesn't work, and we just got lucky, we're bringing a psycho lady, with the ability to tear us in half with a thought, into our base."

BT said, "I estimate a timeframe of 2 hours until she comes to. I can take note of any psychological or physical changes, and we can have her brought to a different location for questioning."

Goku said, "Alright, let's do that. Bring us back BT."

BT said, "Standby."

An electrical field engulfed them and they vanished.

 **Mementos**

The shadow was standing back up and said, "Thank you. You freed me."

Ren asked, "What happened to you?"

The shadow explained, "The Imperator corrupted me. The darkness took my mind. He overwrote my memories. All I could think was, 'Serve the Imperator! Destroy his enemies!' I could do what I wanted, but only if it was in service to him. I had the illusion of free will. You have to save my allies, Genos and Speed O' Sound Sonic."

Ryuji said, "I wish somebody was there to tell him how stupid that name sounds."

Makoto said, "What about the cyborgs? Sundowner, Monsoon, Sam, and Mistral?"

The shadow said, "You won't find them here. They have no souls. The Imperator built new bodies for them and put their memories on the bodies. They're not cyborgs. They're pure robots, with human faces."

Yusuke said, "So that only leaves Vortex and Cyclone."

Ren said, "We'll help them. Return to your real self, for now."

The shadow said, "I will. Thank you."

It turned into pure light and vanished.

Ryuji said, "Well the good news is, I think that was the worst of it. Let's deal with the other two."

The thieves continued into the depths of Mementos.

 **Commons section 12 and 13 joint road**

Cyclone was sitting in the middle of the road, and heard footsteps. He looked behind and saw Raiden approaching. Cyclone said, "Raiden."

Raiden said, "Cyclone."

Cyclone said, "Anybody with you? Or is it just us?"

Raiden said, "Just you and me. Sure you're up for this? It hasn't been that long since I gave you that stomach gash."

Cyclone said, "The Imperator's gifted us with healing. I am well prepared for this. And I won't toy with you this time."

Cyclone pulled out his sword.

Raiden said, "Alright, then."

Raiden pulled out his sword and said, "Let's dance." His face plates slid over the top half of his face.

 **Mementos**

The Thieves came across the shadows of both Cyclone and Vortex. The Cyclone shadow said, "Phantom Thieves. Let's not waste time on formalities. You're here to change us."

Vortex's shadow said, "Make no mistake. We can and will kill you."

Ren said, "That's not you. That's the Darkness talking. We can help you."

 **Music - Blooming Villain - Persona 5 Soundtrack**

Vortex's shadow held its cybernetic hand up, charging an energy blast in its hand. It then said, "GO!"

Cyclone shot forward swinging his sword down, but Yusuke blocked it with his own sword. Ryuji tried to hit Cyclone's shadow in the back of its head with his mace, but got knocked back, by the shadow's back kick to the stomach.

Ren yelled, "Persona!"

Arsene was summoned and fired a blast of cursed energy at Vortex. He jumped out of the way and flew forward, firing blasts from his hands as propulsion. Ann threw out her whip, wrapping it around the shadow's waste and stopping it in its tracks. He turned around and charge an energy bolt in his hand, but was hit square in the chest by Makoto, driving Johana into him. He quickly planted his feet, grabbing and stopping it in its tracks. Makoto leapt from the bike, grabbing the shadow's head between her legs, then throwing it with a scissor leg takedown. The shadow quickly recovered and collapsed both its hands together, firing a massive beam of energy. Makoto and Ren quickly ran out of the way as Ann pulled out her machine gun, firing at Vortex's shadow, the bullets bouncing harmlessly off its back. Haru summoned Milady and fired a blast of pink, yellow, black and blue energy at the shadow, knocking it down and stunning it. Ann summoned Carmen, who threw a fireball at Vortex's shadow knocking it to the ground. Almost immediately it jumped back up, rocketing backwards, grabbing both Haru and Ann by their necks and slamming them into the ground. Makoto summoned Johana and began trying to rush the shadow again. It threw Ann into Makoto, knocking her off of her bike, and rendering Ann unconscious. Makoto pulled out her revolver and fired it from her prone position. The bullet had enough power to penetrate partway through the shadow's shoulder, partially shutting down its arm as he dropped Haru. Haru swung her axe on top of it, but the shadow blocked it with his arm, despite it cutting partway into it. He used his still functioning arm to shoot a torrent of fire at Makoto, knocking her back and burning part of her face. Haru jumped back leaving the axe embedded in the arm and pulled out her grenade launcher, firing a shot that sent the shadow flying back. Ren summoned Arsene, and fired a blast of curse energy. Vortex's shadow recovered in mid air, firing an energy beam that knocked out Ren. Makoto revved up Johanna again, and drove it in a circle, unleashing a blue blast of nuclear energy on Vortex's shadow. This explosion was enough to incinerate the darkness in its body, freeing Vortex of the Imperator's control.

While this happened, Ryuji and Yusuke were battling Cyclone's shadow on either side. It managed to keep pace with both of them, at melee range, constantly closing the distance to prevent them from summoning their personas. Yusuke dashed by Cyclone's shadow, attempting to cut at its midsection. The shadow twirled to the side, and blocked Ryuji's coming mace strike. It used its other hand and pinned the mace to the ground, then stabbed Ryuji in the stomach. The shadow released his sword as it remained in Ryuji's gut. He stumbled back and fell to his knees. Yusuke summoned Goemon and fired a blast of ice at the shadow, but it quickly dodged the ice blast, pulled the sword out of Ryuji's stomach, rushed Yusuke, and kneed him in the stomach. He rolled back into a crouching position, firing his assault rifle. The shadow effortlessly deflected the bullets and rushed Yusuke, who blocked the coming sword strike.

While Yusuke was holding a desperate defense against Cyclone, Ann rushed to Ryuji's side. She said, "Skull. Just hang on."

Ryuji coughed and said, "To what?"

Ann summoned Carmen, who mirrored her movements, pressing her hand to Ryuji's stomach wound. A green shine emanated from Carmen's hand, healing Ryuji's wound.

Cyclone's shadow continued to fly past Yusuke at rapid speeds, as it continuously tried to block from every side. But it was managing to land a few hits, nicking at his legs and arms. When Yusuke was on the ground, holding himself up by his sword, the shadow stood in front of him, with his back facing the rest of the Thieves. He said, "I thought you would be more formidable warriors. But you are nothing but children."

Suddenly Ryuji's mace hit it in the back of the head, knocking the Darkness out of the shadow.

 **Music end**

Ann summoned Carmen and torched it, freeing Cyclone of the Imperator's control. Ann used Carmen to heal Yusuke's body.

Cyclone and Vortex's shadows stood back up. Vortex's shadow said, "You freed us. Thank you."

Makoto was grabbing at the burned part of her face, and used Johanna to heal herself.

Ren stood back up with Haru and said, "It was our duty. You were the last ones, right?"

Cyclone's shadow said, "Yes."

Makoto said, "Just return to your real form and atone."

Vortex's shadow said, "Of course. Thank you again."

Vortex's shadow vanished in a cloud of light. But before Cyclone's could, the shadow grabbed its chest in pain and exploded into a cloud of black smoke.

Ryuji shouted, "What the hell just happened?"

 **Commons section 12 and 13 joint road**

While the Phantom Thieves fought the shadow, Raiden was dueling with Cyclone in the real world. Raiden had no issue blocking his coming strikes at near the speed of sound. At the same time, however, he was unable to land any hits. Raiden continued deflecting and combatting Cyclone's sword strikes. Eventually Cyclone found an opening and stabbed Raiden in the leg. He then pulled the sword out and kicked him in the shoulder, knocking him back a bit. Raiden opened his mask and said, "He's not holding back. BT, turn off my pain inhibitors!"

BT said, "I would not advise that. You could go on a killing spree. The job was to hold your own until the Phantom Thieves change..."

Raiden said, "If I lose here, nobody will be fast enough to stop this guy."

BT said, "Goku, Toph, and Garnet would all possess the necessary speed to combat Cyclone."

Raiden said, "Goku and Toph are fighting Tornado right now and Garnet is gone. Until they beat Tornado, I need to be Jack. Turn off my pain inhibitors now!"

After a pause, BT said, "Copy that, Raiden."

Raiden smiled as Cyclone stabbed him in the stomach. This time he felt the pain of it, but he relished in it, continuing to smile as blood leaked from his wounds. He then started laughing as his one visible eye turned red and flashed. A red aura overtook his body while he continued cackling. Cyclone stepped back in fear at Raiden's masochism.

Cyclone said, "You've lost your mind."

Raiden said, this time in a more gravely and throaty voice, "You know. That's the same thing Monsoon said the first time we fought. Before I chopped him into pieces. Before I was Raiden, they called me Jack the Ripper. And I think it's time for Jack..."

Raiden ripped the sword out of his stomach and dropped it in front of Cyclone and said, "...to let 'er rip!"

His face mask slid back on again as Cyclone grabbed his sword.

 **Music - Rules of Nature - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (OST)**

Raiden charged at Cyclone and was now on the offensive, hitting with more ferocity and power, and with the intent to kill rather than subdue. Every hit Cyclone blocked caused the sword to vibrate in his hands, hurting them. Raiden finally swung his sword down on Cyclone, knocking the sword out of his hand then whipping forward to stab Cyclone through the chest, killing him. He spat up blood and said, "What the hell are you?"

Raiden said, "I told you. I'm Jack the Ripper."

Raiden removed the sword and swiped at Cyclone's neck, chopping his head off in swing. Raiden licked the blood off his sword and started laughing, until an electrical shock surged through his body, knocking him unconscious.

 **Music end**

 **Abraxas palace Green room**

Vortex was still sitting alone, meditating. His eyes completely turned black. Then the black faded away revealing his eyes. He grabbed his head in pain for a moment. When it subsided, he looked up and down at his hands, knowing what he had to do.

 **? ? ?**

X was somewhere unknown. It looked like a desert. She approached what looked like a hill, surrounded by Locust, Sangheili and Orcs. Sangheili were at the top of the hill, Locust were on walkways built around it and Orcs guarded the ground floor. There were several massive steel doors on the middle level leading inside the hill. There were also hovering drones surveying the place with searchlights. X tapped a button on her belt that turned her entire body invisible. She ran past the orcs and pressed a button on her shoulder. A small gun with a spear in it fired into the air. It was a grappling hook that latched onto the walkway, pulling her into the air. While hanging off of the rope, she used her one hand to grab a small spherical device on her belt. She threw it over head, over the railing of the walkway. It started beeping, drawing the Locust guard to it. She swung underneath and landed where the Locust used to be. She then took out a small half-spherical device and placed it on the keypad next to the door. After some quick beeps the door opened, she grabbed the device from the keypad and ran inside.

The door shut behind her and she looked around. There was a single cell, guarded by two Sangheili. She heard a clanking behind her, drawing her sword as she turned behind her. What she thought was a patrolling guard was actually a girl.

She was a fair-skinned young girl with silver eyes and black, neck-length, choppy hair that faded to dark red at the tips.

She wore a black long sleeved dress with a high collar and red trim on the sleeves, a black waist cinched with red lacing up the front, and a red trim around her skirt. She also wore a pair of thick black stockings and black combat boots with red laces, red trim around the top and red soles.

Her outfit was topped by a red hooded cloak fastened to her shoulders by cross-shaped pins.

X deactivated her invisibility, surprising the girl. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?", she said holding the tip of the sword forward.

The girl said, "My name is Ruby. Ruby Rose."

X was taken back. She said, "Ruby Rose? You're Yang Xiao Long's sister!"

Ruby said, "Yang?! Where is she?"

X said, "Hang on. You never answered my second question. What are you doing here?"

Ruby said, "I've been listening in on communications after I stole a Sangheili radio. They were talking about capturing Ruby, so I came down here to see what's happening. Now where is Yang?"

X said, "In the middle of a fight right now. Help me find the people I came to rescue, and I'll take you to her."

Ruby said, "Deal."

X and Ruby made their way across the walkway until they were overlooking the two Sangheili guarding the cell.

X said, "We gotta take these two out at the same time. I got the one on the right. Ready?"

Ruby grabbed a small red box from her back. When she clicked it, it extended and unlocked until it turned into a scythe, with a barrel on the end where the blade meets the staff. There was also several gunlike elements on the middle of the staff similar to a sniper(trigger, magazine, side lever and scope).

Ruby said, "Ready."

The two dove down. X landed sword first on the right Sangheili, stabbing him through the top of the head and down his body. Ruby knocked the other Sangheili over and as he stood up, she hooked the back of his neck with her scythe, pulled the trigger, and a sniper shot blasted out of the barrel. Ruby used the kickback to pull the scythe with enough speed and force to cleanly decapitate the Sangheili.

X said, "Nice moves. Watch my back."

X placed the semi-spherical device on the keypad while Ruby looked out for coming guards. After multiple beeps, the cell doors opened. She walked inside, and looked up finding four purple-black bubbles against the ceiling. She grabbed two of them, finding Garnet's blue and red gemstones inside each of them. She crushed them, popping the bubbles. She then placed the gemstones on the ground. Each of them began to glow, and light projections emanated from them, forming a small body from each. When the light subsided, two females, were standing beside her. Each had their respective gem in their opposite hand.

The one with the red gem had it in her left hand with the square facet. She had bright scarlet skin, burgundy irises, and dark burgundy, square-shaped hair. She was slightly taller than X and had a thick build. She wore a maroon and brown tank top and a matching maroon headband tied around her hair. Her outfit also included mid-thigh burgundy shorts, and short, pointed maroon boots.

The one with the blue gem had it in her right hand with the triangle facet. She had blue skin and pale blue, wavy hair with bangs that covered the top half of her face. She was slightly taller than the red girl. Her prominent lips and facial structure resembled Garnet's. Underneath her bangs was a large eye with a dodger blue iris and visible pupil upon her forehead. She wore a floor-length gown with white, rounded, puffy sleeves, a navy top, and a blue skirt. Her dress has a blue pinafore over the top. The skirt has several frilly layers in several shades of blue which resemble an open geode. She also wore white elbow-length evening gloves. Her feet were hidden under the dress.

The girl with the red gem looked up at X and said, "X? What's going on? Where are we?"

The girl with the blue gem said, "A prison obviously."

X replied, "Except you guys are the only prisoners."

The girl with the red gem said to the girl with the blue gem, "Sapphire, are you ok?"

Sapphire said back, "I'm fine Ruby."

X said, "We don't have time for idle chitchat. You two fuse back into Garnet while I grab the other two."

X jumped back up as Ruby and Sapphire held hands. Ruby said, "Let's try not to mess up like that again."

Sapphire giggled and said, "Deal."

The two hugged as their bodies turned back into light, merging into a ball as their gems faded into dark red. The light took shape and Garnet appeared. She said, "It's good to be back."

X grabbed the other bubbles and popped them. From one was a white spherical gem and the other had a purple gem with a hexagonal facet.

The white gem activated and from it came a woman who had a slender, thin build, ivory skin, sky-blue eyes, a pointed nose and thin lips. She was nearly equal in height (with hair) to Garnet's chin. Her hair had a peach color and resembled a pixie-cut in the front, while in the back, her hair lead to a point. She wore an aqua blue tunic with a small gold star on the center of her chest and a lighter satin sash ribbon around her upper waist and amber-colored leggings. She also wore pink socks with pale blue slip-on ballet flats. The gem was in her forehead.

The purple gem activated and from it came a short woman with a stout build, whose skin was a bright lilac, and she had thick, messy pale lavender hair that went down to her ankles, with a large bang that obscured her left eye. She had plump lips, a small, upturned nose, and dark indigo eyes. She wore a mauve, oversized, off-white tank top with a jagged hem, black leggings with dark mauve stars on them, and ankle boots with the same dark mauve hue.

The girl with the white gem said to the girl with the purple gem, "Amethyst?"

Amethyst said back, "Pearl? What's happening? Where are we?"

X dropped down and said, "I can't do this a second time. There's no time for introductions. We've gotta get out of here."

Pearl said, "Wait, who are you?"

Garnet said, "Pearl. Amethyst. Come with us. I'll explain everything when we're somewhere safe."

Ruby said, "Sangheili! They're coming!"

X said, "BT, can you hear me?"

BT said, "I read you, commander."

X said, "I need a teleport. Me plus 4."

BT said, "Copy that. Standby."

An electrical field engulfed them and they vanished.

 **Honorbound Base**

X, Ruby, Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst were back inside the base.

Ruby said, "Yang? Where are you?"

X said, "I told you. She's not here. She's in the middle of a fight. If you want to help her, BT can send you to her."

BT said, "Ready for teleport."

Ruby said, "Take me now."

BT said, "Copy that. Standby."

Ruby vanished in a haze of electricity. Amethyst said, "Hold on. Timeout. What's going on? Where are we? Where were we? Who are you?"

X said, "Amethyst. I know you have a lot of questions. But give me a chance to get this all sorted out, and I will answer your questions. Garnet, I know you just got back, but were in the middle of a fight on multiple fronts and I think John is in need of some assistance fighting Monsoon."

Garnet said, "It's alright. I'm ready to get back to it. You fill in Pearl and Amethyst. BT, take me to John."

BT said, "Copy that. Standby."

Garnet vanished as well in a haze of electricity.

X said, "Ok, while that's getting sorted out, I can start explaining what's happening. First, what is the last thing either of you remember before your physical forms dropped?"

Amethyst said, "Uh, I think we were fighting some weird guy in a hood with snakes coming out of his back."

Pearl said, "That's the last thing I remember."

X said, "That man with snakes is called the Imperator. And he's pretty much declared himself king of the Earth."

Pearl and Amethyst both shouted, "What?!"

X said, "It was insane. He invaded with a massive army of interstellar aliens known as the sangheili, subterranean creatures called locust, and mutant elven creatures called orcs. They've established a whole society. Most people live in the Commons, which is just endlessly repeated housing for the middle class, while others live in the Pits, which are camps for the lower class and homeless. At the heart of all of it is Abraxas, the capital of his empire for the filthy rich."

Pearl paused the explanation to ask, "Wait, if he's taken over the planet, how does he decide currency and such?"

BT chimed in to say, "However much finances a person had to their name before the invasion, decides their place."

X continued, "Exactly. And it doesn't matter what the circumstances surrounding it are. If you specifically have no money on you, you were put in the Pits. Anyway, this world that we're in is a sort of hybrid of our dimensions, combining the cities and people of multiple worlds together. A specific creation of the Imperator."

Amethyst said, "He's strong enough to do that?"

X said, "Eh kind of. It's less that he's strong enough to do that and more that he specifically has that power. Or rather the Darkness has that power."

Pearl said, "The what?"

X said, "The Darkness. An ancient entity that's bound to him, and gives him the power to summon those snakes from his back, manipulate the dimensions to a limited degree, regenerate, avoid death itself, conjure up darkness constructs, and much more that I don't even know. As for me, the only thing you need to know is that my name is X. And we're in the base of the Honorbound. The Honorbound is a resistance movement started by me to oppose the Imperator, inspire hope for the few who oppose him, and hopefully bring down his empire and restore our worlds."

Amethyst said, "That's a heckuva lot to take in."

Pearl said, "So wait, what happened to Garnet in that time? You said she got back, like she's been working with you before?"

X said, "Yes. I don't know the circumstances that caused you three to get split apart, but I did find her some time ago, and she's been an Honorbound member ever since. I only knew who you were because of how much she talks about you."

Amethyst said, "So what's going on now?"

X said, "Like I said. Our forces are engaging the Imperator's on multiple fronts right now. If you want to fight that's your decision, but when you do, know that you are an Honorbound."

X pressed a button on the computer and said, "Goku. Toph. What is the situation?"

Goku replied, "Hey, X! We got her. Something happened with her though. I think it was the Phantom Thieves."

X said, "Bring her back to base. We have a containment device prepared."

Toph said, "Wait, what?! We're bringing her back?!"

BT said, "There is no cause for alarm. We have the means to keep her restrained."

Toph said, "If it doesn't work, and we just got lucky, we're bringing a psycho lady, with the ability to tear us in half with a thought, into our base."

BT said, "I estimate a timeframe of 2 hours until she comes to. I can take note of any psychological or physical changes, and we can have her brought to a different location for questioning."

Goku said, "Alright, let's do that. Bring us back BT."

BT said, "Standby."

 **Commons 7 and 8 joint road**

Sundowner was standing ready with his shields locked behind him. He saw Yang approaching, and smiled. Sundowner said, "Well hello, little missy."

Yang said, "Don't call me that. I didn't come for any chit chat. I came to beat you into the dirt."

Sundowner said, "You can try. But I'm saving a hole in the ground for whatever's left when I'm done with..."

Before he could finish, Yang struck him in the jaw with her fist, sending him back.

 **Music - Red Sun - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (OST)**

He laughed and said, "Alright then. Let's play!"

Sundowner grabbed both of his swords as his shields clicked into place and his face plate slide over the bottom half of his face.

Yang activated her gauntlets as they clicked open and slid over her fists.

Sundowner jumped forward and swung a sword down, Yang blocking it with her gauntlet. She tried to hit him in the stomach, but he clasped two shields over her hand, then threw her overhead. When she landed on the other side, Sundowner smacked her with his shield, knocking her back. She rolled back and saw Sundowner bearing down on her with his swords. She blocked the coming strikes, then fired a shot from her gauntlet, propelling her elbow upwards and hitting Sundowner in the arm. She then used the opening and struck him in the side, then uppercut him in the face. He whipped back and started slashing with his swords. He used both and pushed both of Yang's hands down, then used the opening to twirl and kick her in the stomach. She slid back grabbing her stomach, but started to glow. She fired out her shotgun gauntlets launching forward, but Sundowner smacked her to the side with his shields.

He then said, "Keep trying to hit me, lady. You ain't even gonna scratch me."

She stopped herself launched back and Sundowner tried to hit her again. She dropped down, sliding on the ground, and dodging the shield. She then fired her gauntlets launching her back. She used the momentum to strike him in the back between his shields, launching him into the ground. He pushed the shields into the ground, lifting him up.

He clapped his shields together in front of him, charging forward. Yang jumped to the side, then jumped to Sundowner's exposed side. He blocked her coming punch with his sword, then smacked her with the shield, knocking her into the ground.

He said, "Your hits are getting stronger. You must be absorbing my hits and throwing them back in equal force. Monsoon'd lose his mind for that power."

Yang said, "That's right! You keep hitting me, I'm gonna get strong enough to break you in half with one hit."

Sundowner responded, "I told you! You can't touch me! I'm fucking..."

He was cut off by a shot to his back. He looked behind to see Ruby running at him with her sniper-scythe. Yang saw and yelled, "Ruby?!"

Ruby kept firing, jumping over Sundowner, hooking the scythe around the robotic arms that held his shields. She fired a shot, tearing them off in one swoop. The shields fell to the ground and deactivated as Ruby landed in front of Sundowner and kicked him away.

Ruby ran to Yang to help her to her feet. Yang said, "Ruby. Where have you been?"

Ruby said, "I can explain. But fight now. Talk later."

Yang nodded.

Sundowner picked himself up. Without shields, and only his swords, he was prepared for a real fight. More plates slid over his eyes, fully covering his entire face. He raised his right arm, which unlocked and revealed a small robotic arm with a holster in it. He clicked the sword in his left hand into the holster, effectively creating massive shears out of the two swords in his right hand.

Yang pulled out a new line of shells and locked them into her gauntlets, reloading them.

Ruby dropped a mag from her scythe, reloading it with a full one.

Sundowner growled, now with anger and hate burning through his voice, "I'll split you in two."

He charged forward. He stuck the shears outwards, attempting to catch Ruby and Yang, but they both jumped to the side. Yang rushed in and tried to hit him in the gut but he caught her fist in his shears, then pulled her to the side, opening the shears again as Ruby jumped in. He managed to grab her scythe as she swung it on him, then clamped his shears together throwing them to either side of each other. He tried to stab Ruby, but she vanished into a pile of rose petals, and reappeared above him. As he tried to block Yang grabbed his leg, throwing him off balance long enough for Ruby to get a nasty slash on his midsection. He grabbed Yang with his free hand and threw her at Ruby. Ruby was able to evade, slashing again at his midsection. He started striking at her with his shears, and she blocked the coming strikes, twirling her scythe and firing shots to increase its twirling speed. Yang tried to hit him in the back, but he blocked it with his shears, grabbed Ruby's scythe out of her hands, kicked her away, then shot Yang with it, knocking her back. Now armed with the shears in one hand and Ruby's scythe in the other, he dragged them both on the ground and prepared to finish off the incapacitated Yang. Suddenly, a spear pierced his back and penetrated through his front. The spear consisted of a glowing pearl blade with a white grip and a cyan, gold, and white colored pommel shaped like a star. The head of the blade spiraled down the upper shaft, becoming less sharp on the lower shaft. Pearl was standing on the end, gripping the end. She swung upwards, pulling the spear through Sundowner's head and cutting the upper part of his body in half, killing him. Inside was only machinery and wiring as his body fell to the ground.

 **Music end**

Ruby and Yang recovered as Ruby retrieved her scythe.

Yang said, "Thanks for the help. Who are you?"

Pearl said, "I'm a friend of Garnet's. I'm Pearl."

Yang said, "Wait is she back?"

Ruby said, "She is I was with X when we got her out."

Yang said, "Let's get back to base."

 **Commons sections 44 and 45 joint road**

John had his assault rifle at the ready and found Monsoon, squatting down. He smiled and said, "Hello, Master Chief. Still sworn to the rifle, I see."

John immediately began firing at Monsoon who threw a smoke bomb into the ground, covering the area in smoke while sliding down his face plate, covering his entire face.

 **Music -** **Stains** **of** **Time -** **Metal** **Gear** **Rising:** **Revengeance (** **OST)**

John held his assault rifle at the ready, keeping his head turning all directions. Monsoon appeared behind him, jabbing him in the shoulder with one sai and stabbing him in the arm with the other causing him to drop his gun. He then leapt over John and delivered a back kick to his stomach knocking him out of the smoke cloud. John immediately rolled back, pulling out a pistol and firing into the cloud, tagging Monsoon in the arm and leg. Monsoon's face plate activated a small tower of disks, which turned his body purple. As John started firing again, Monsoon's body split apart in ways that he could evade the coming bullets, as he rushed John. John was smart enough to fire a shot, then fire upwards immediately. Monsoon's head moved up to dodge the first bullet, but got hit by the second immediate bullet, causing the tower of disks to recede into his face plate, reattaching his body together. John jumped down grabbed his rifle, and started unloading on Monsoon, but most of the bullets bounced harmlessly off his body. He jumped forward punching John in the face, cracking his helmet. Garnet suddenly came up behind him, grabbing him and suplexing him. He recovered, shouting, "What?! Where'd she come from?!"

Amethyst jumped over head, grabbing him with a multi-tailed dark violet whip. The whip had two tails and a cross-guard in the form of a lavender star. The lash was dark purple and was divided into three different segments. At the ends of these segments and embedded along the whip were purple gem shards. Her whip also had a purple gemstone as the pommel and the handle itself was purplish gray. She threw him into the air, as John got in a quick few more shots. He reactivated his face plate, disassembling his body as he landed safely on the ground. Amethyst and Garnet tried to strike at him with their whip and gauntlets, but he kept the evasion up, kicking Amethyst with his legs, and striking Garnet in the stomach with a palm strike.

Amethyst said, "Ugh! This guy's just gonna keep moving."

Garnet said, "Then let's not give him room to maneuver. Fuse with me!"

Amethyst nodded. The two locked arms as their bodies faded into light, morphing into a massive ball of light that took form as a colossal female, about double BT's height. She had a stocky build, five lilac colored eyes, a mouth filled with sharp teeth, and a giant plume of spiky, dark purple-black hair kept in an untamed style similar to Amethyst's, but messier. She had lavender-violet skin, wore a top that was split into two colors (violet and dark purple), black and burgundy bodysuit similar to Garnet's, and a lilac visor covering her lower eyes. She had four arms which were connected at her sleeves. Her leggings featured star-shaped patches, much like Amethyst's leggings, with the left one colored black and the right one colored dark-violet. Garnet's gemstones were colored dark purple and located on the lower pair of arms while Amethyst's gem took the same color and was on the chest.

Monsoon said, "What the hell are you?"

The lady said, "The name's Sugilite, baby!"

She swung one of her fists down, but Monsoon was fast enough to evade it. She then tried stomping for him, but he kept jumping side to side. Growing more frustrated, Sugilite activated Garnet's gemstones, summoning her gauntlets, which clamped together into a flail. She swung it, and managed to catch Monsoon with it, shattering his entire body in one swing, some parts (including his head) being sent several thousand feet away.

Sugilite yelled, "They're going, they're going, they're going and they're gone!"

 **Music end**

Sugilite smiled as her body turned into light, unfusing back into Garnet and Amethyst.

John said, "Thanks for the help you two. When we get back, I want to know what THAT was that you just did with...what's your name?"

Amethyst said, "Amethyst!"

John said, "Amethyst."

John pressed a finger to his ear. He said, "BT! We finished off Monsoon. Bring us back."

BT said, "Copy that. Standby."

An electrical field engulfed them and they vanished.

 **Abraxas Palace**

The Imperator was just told the news from the Arbiter of what happened with Tornado, Cyclone, Monsoon, and Sundowner.

The Imperator yelled, "WHAT?! I stepped up to my room for like 10 minutes, what the hell happened?"

The Arbiter said, "While you were in your room, four of the Winds stepped out to draw out the Honorbound, and were promptly defeated. Sundowner and Monsoon are unresponsive, Cyclone is confirmed KIA, and Tornado's whereabouts are unknown."

The Imperator said, "What about Vortex?"

The Arbiter said, "Unknown. My soldiers say he had to step out, and that's the last we've seen of him."

The Imperator said, "You know, when I say people are grounded, that usually means they're not allowed to leave! So that stuff like this does not happen!"

The Arbiter said, "To be fair, I don't think any of our men knew about that, or at least not the ones guarding the door."

The Imperator rubbed his eyes and said, "Fair enough. Is there anything else you have for me? I could really REALLY use some good news right about now."

The Arbiter said, "Yes. We found IT."

The Imperator said, "There's a lot of IT's in the world, Thel. Please be more specific."

The Arbiter said, "The book."

The Imperator froze and said, "You did?!"

The Arbiter reached onto a slot in his back armor and pulled out a decrepit book, with alien symbols and decayed pages, and said, "One of the deep space search teams brought this back from the Dreadnought. With it, we may be able to strengthen you and ourselves."

The Imperator grabbed the book, opened it to flip through the pages, and smiled. He then said, "Oh, when I'm finished, the Honorbound won't even know what hit them."


	9. Chapter 9

**Honorbound** **Base**

The entire Honorbound group was brought back together. Raiden was still unconscious, Tornado had a metal collar around her neck while unconscious, Ruby and Yang were recovering with the Phantom Thieves, Goku and Toph; John was grabbing ammo and reloading his rifle, and the Gems were sitting back taking it all in.

X said, "BT, what happened with Raiden?"

BT said, "I deactivated his pain inhibitors during his fight with Cyclone. Raiden was able to quickly dispatch and execute him."

X said, "WHAT?! BT are you insane?"

BT said, "I was not programmed under the human concept of insanity."

X said, "It was a figure of speech. BT, you can't just do that whenever. If Raiden got lost in his Jack the Ripper mindset, he could've gone on a serious killing spree."

BT said, "That is why I implanted a failsafe, overcharging his body to render him unconscious should he be at risk of losing his mind to Jack the Ripper."

X said, "I don't care about a failsafe. That's still way too dangerous. Raiden's strong enough when he's holding back, but the second you let him off the leash, with no inhibitions who knows what he'd be capable of."

The Phantom Thieves overheard as Ren said to them, "That explains what happened to Cyclone's shadow in Mementos."

Amethyst asked, "What's mentos?"

Ren said, "Mementos. In short, it's like another dimension forged from humanity's twisted subconscious. We as Phantom Thieves can enter and change people of our choice. We managed to do it for the girl kept in a neck brace over there, and one other guy who happened to be down there as well. Cyclone died before we could change him and the others were robots, not humans."

Makoto asked, "Are you a Gem? Like Garnet?"

Amethyst said, "Sort of. I'm a gem, but I'm nothing like Garnet. For one thing, Garnet is a fusion."

Ryuji asked, "Fusion?"

Amethyst said, "Yep. She's basically two other Gems, Ruby and Sapphire, put together."

Pearl said, "It's a little more than just 'put together'. Ruby and Sapphire are two Gems that fell in love long ago. Their fusion into Garnet is because of that love, and they stay together because they can't stand being apart."

Ann said, "Awww, that's so sweet!"

Ryuji asked, "Can all Gems fuse?"

Amethyst said, "Basically, yeah. But when we do it, it's mainly to be stronger when we fight the bad guys."

Yang and Ruby were talking. Yang said, "So, where have you been this whole time?"

Ruby said, "After the attacks came and the Imperator took over, I did what I could to survive. I had to steal food from cafeterias in the Pits, and sleep on house rooftops in the Commons. I always moved so fast that they never saw me, so nobody ever reported me. It wasn't until I heard about a Ruby getting captured that I went to investigate, and met X."

Yang said, "That's a good thing too. I'm glad you're back safe. Now we can figure out how to bring down this guy and get our homes back to normal."

X announced, "Everyone! I'm headed out. I'm gonna head back up to the Pits."

Haru asked, "Why?"

X said, "Because, in case you forgot, we instigated a prison riot when we got you out, and now criminals are on the loose up top. I'm going up there to help sort that stuff out, because I have a feeling that the Locust and Orcs aren't gonna. But you guys had better stay down here. They'll know your faces. Check her when she wakes up, and call me if anything interesting happens. BT, take me up."

BT said, "Copy that. Standby."

X vanished in a haze of electricity.

 **Abraxas Palace**

The Imperator was reading the book at his throne. The Arbiter asked, "You were hellbent on getting that book. What's in it that's so important?"

The Imperator explained, "This is the journal of a king...no. A god. A being of immeasurable power named Oryx. The Darkness had told me stories of him, but never knew the circumstances surrounding his power. But in this book, he kept record of the methods through which he obtained that power."

The Arbiter asked, "What power?"

The Imperator said, "The power to corrupt. To enslave. To take. With this, I can not only bend the Honorbound to my will, but I can make them twice as strong."

He kept flipping through the book until he found the page he was looking for.

* * *

 **The Power to Take**

I must defeat the Ecumene.

I had to slay my own sisters, but there is no cost too high to stop them.

Today, I've met the Worm God, Akka.

I slew him in his place, and stole the secrets from his flesh.

I must draw these secrets into Tablets of Ruin.

Then I can Take.

Then I can finish these invaders.

* * *

The Imperator said, "Tablets of Ruin. Ok. I think we can manage that. Thel! Do you see this?"

The Imperator showed the Arbiter symbols scribbled into the book. The Arbiter said, "Yes."

"I'm heading out. I want you to commission Orcs and Sangheili into constructing tablets to these specifications and with these symbols. When it's done, I'll be back to complete the ritual."

The Arbiter bowed his head and said, "It will be done, sir. May I ask where you're going?"

The Imperator said, "Over half of the Winds of Destruction are gone. I need new recruits. You're in charge of things until I get back. Just keep everything in line, don't make any big plans or anything."

The Arbiter said, "Yes, sir."

As the two dispersed and left, little did they know, Vortex was hiding above them in the rafters. He dropped down and ran out of the palace, firing his hand blasters into the ground, rocketing him into the air. He landed outside the walls, and began running at hypersonic speeds, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. He was carrying something on his back. This something would be what turned the tide of the war.

 **Honorbound Base**

Tornado was beginning to wake up. She heard voices, but her head was killing her. One voice said, "Guys, she's waking up!"

Another voice said, "Time to see if this collar works."

As her hearing came back and her vision focused, she saw herself surrounded by the Honorbound. She was frightened, and attempted to use her powers, but as she began to glow, and electric shock hit her in the neck, stunning her.

Goku said, "It worked!"

She looked down to see the collar clamped around her neck. She said, "What's going on? Where am I?"

Yang said, "We're asking the questions here, lady. What's the last thing you remember?"

Tornado said, "I remember, fighting two people. Then it's all black after. I remember feeling this thing in my head. Controlling my actions like a puppet."

Garnet asked, "Do you know where you are?"

Tornado said, "I'm in the world of the Imperator. Judging by all of you being here, I'll guess this is the Honorbound base."

Ren said, "I think you can let her go. We changed her heart and cleansed the corruption. She'll be fine."

Tornado said, "Changed my heart? You must be the Phantom Thieves! You don't need to worry about me. I'm on your side."

Toph said, "Are you sure?"

Tornado said, "That bastard took over my mind. Turned me into his puppet. I'm gonna break every bone in his body over and over and over. Whatever it takes!"

The Honorbound looked at each other and nodded.

John walked over and took off the neck brace.

She stood up, dusting herself off and said, "Thanks. So what happens now?"

Ryuji said, "Now? Welcome to the Honorbound, Tornado!"

Tornado said, "Call me Tatsumaki!"

Makoto said, "That literally means 'Tornado', but ok."

Toph suddenly said, "Someone else is here! I feel them walking in. Everyone stop moving."

Everyone stood still and Toph pointed to a darkened corner of the room. Tatsumaki raised her hand forward and pulled a figure out of the darkness. It was Vortex.

Everyone prepared their weapons on him. Haru said, "Everyone! It's ok. We changed Vortex as well. He's on our side."

Tatsumaki nodded and dropped him. Vortex said, "She's right. I'm not here to fight I'm here to help. And my name is Genos"

Goku said, "How'd you even find us?"

Genos said, "X-ray vision. It's a power I forgot I had when the Imperator took control of me and overwrote my mind. And what I have is the means of finally beating him."

Genos pulled something off his back. It had a cylindrical design, with markings and a purple hue over it. It also had a single spike coming out of the bottom that served as the handle.

Garnet asked, "What is it?"

Genos said, "It's the Siphon of the Angelus. I've downloaded all sorts of files I had access to before I got shut out of the system. This thing actually has the capability to steal the Darkness from someone and capture it."

Toph said, "Wait, seriously?"

Genos said, "But there's more. And this is the bad news. The Imperator recently acquired a new book. Some sort of journal. And he's preparing to give himself some new power to corrupt and possess people."

Tatsumaki asked, "Couldn't he already do that?"

Genos said, "Yes. But now this corruption will make us even stronger as well as making us his slaves."

Ruby said, "What? Has he done it yet?"

Genos said, "Not yet. They have to construct some sort of tablets that he has to activate in a ritual, but he's out looking for new recruits now that you've killed most of them."

Garnet said, "Who's he after?"

 **? ? ?**

The Imperator was in a Japanese style city. He pressed a finger to his ear and said, "Computer. What can you tell me about this dimension?"

A computerized female voice said, "You are in a world where roughly 80% of the populace has been gifted some strange new power, known as a quirk."

The Imperator said, "Ok. So finding soldiers shouldn't be hard. Direct me to the strongest being."

The voice said, "Beginning navigation. Location: UA high school. Target: Izuku Midoriya."

The Imperator said, "Izuku Midoriya. Prepare to join my ranks."

 **UA high school**

The Imperator was near the entrance to a school comprised of two buildings and a massive wall surrounding it. He stood right outside a doorway in the wall, looking at it and saying, "I'm gonna guess this is a security system. Not surprising. A world of people with powers, you want to keep your students and staff safe from any bad guys."

He then looked to his left and saw several houses on the left side, outside the wall.

The Imperator smiled and said, "Probably not the best idea to keep their dorms OUTSIDE the wall."

He made his way to the homes, and before he knew it he was standing outside the housing units. He was about to walk forward, but stopped. He said, "Hold on. If I rush in there without a plan, they're gonna swamp me. I need to know what they're capable of first."

He ran towards the wall, summoned Darkness tendrils and used them to propel himself over the wall, evading the barbed wire.

He walked inside one of the buildings and saw that it was empty, but there were cubicles and desks. He said, "Computer. Download information off of any nearby computers. I want to see if anyone else is as strong as Izuku Midoriya."

The voice said, "Files downloaded. Class 1-A contains students who have come back from multiple crisis situations and survived multiple dangerous villain attacks."

The Darkness said, "They would be ideal for us."

The Imperator said, "Indeed. They would. Pull up info on Class 1-A. Let's see what we've got."

A device in his ear began displaying holograms only he could see. They were images showing files on high school age students.

The first was a boy with unkempt green hair, freckles and green eyes. The voice said, "Izuku Midoriya. Alternate name: Deku. Utilizes a strength based quirk that, at full power, can destroy skyscrapers at the cost of his own body."

The next was a fair skinned girl with shoulder length brown hair that sported two locks beside her face and a bob in the back. The voice said, "Ochaco Uraraka. Alternate name: Uravity. Utilizes a quirk that can nullify the gravity of any object, then be released again at any point."

The next was a boy with spiky, pale blonde hair and red eyes. The voice said, "Katsuki Bakugo. Alternate name: Kacchan. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to create explosions at will through the nitroglycerin sweat secreted from his hands."

The next was a boy with glasses and blue hair. The voice said, "Tenya Iida. Alternate name: Ingenium. Utilizes a quirk that has engines in his legs, dramatically increasing his movement speed and kicking power."

The next was a girl with hip length green hair, wide eyes and a wide mouth. The voice said, "Tsuyu Asui. Alternate name: Froppy. Utilizes a quirk that gives her all the powers of a frog."

The next was a boy with very spiky red hair and red eyes. The voice said, "Eijiro Kirishima. Alternate name: Red Riot. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to harden his body to solid rock."

The next was a boy with shining eyes and blonde, combed back, hair. The voice said, "Yuga Aoyama. Alternate name: Can't stop twinkling. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to fire a laser from his navel."

The next was a girl who had pink skin and pink frazzled hair, black eyes, pink hair and yellow horns. The voice said, "Mina Ashido. Alternate name: Pinky. Utilizes a quirk that allows production of acid from any part of her body."

The next was a girl with black hair done in a pony tail. The voice said, "Momo Yaoyorozu. Alternate name: Creati. Utilizes a quirk that allows her to create anything, so long as she knows the molecular composition.

The next was a boy with uncombed orange hair and a black lightning bolt marked in it. The voice said, "Denki Kaminari. Alternate name: Chargebolt. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to discharge lighting, albeit uncontrolled at range and with risk to his brain functions."

The next was a boy with several purple balls on his head in place of hair. The voice said, "Minoru Mineta. Alternate name: Grape Juice. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to pull and throw the orbs on his head, which become adhesive to anyone but himself, instead becoming bouncy for himself."

The next was a girl with short dark hair, and what looked like wires coming out of her ears. The voice said, "Kyoka Jiro. Alternate name: Earphone Jack. Utilizes a quirk that allows her to transmit her heartbeat sounds through wires connected to her earlobes."

The next was a boy with the head of a bird, with black feathers and a yellow beak. The voice said, "Fumikage Tokoyami. Alternate name: Tsukuyomi. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to summon a shadow beast to fight for him."

The next was a boy with neck length hair that was white on his right side and red on his left. He had a burn mark over his right eye. His left eye was blue and his right was black. The voice said, "Shoto Todoroki. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to shoot and control ice on his right side and fire on his left side."

The next was a boy with black hair. The voice said, "Hanta Sero. Alternate name: Cellophane. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to fire tape from his elbows, which can be used for swinging or entrapment."

The next was a boy with a rock shaped head, unevenly pointed at the top. The voice said, "Koji Koda. Alternate name: Anima. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to talk to and control animals."

The next was a boy with big lips and spiked brown hair. The voice said, "Rikido Sato. Alternate name: Sugarman. Utilizes a quirk that grants him inhuman strength after consuming 10 grams of sugar."

The next was a boy with grey hair covering most of his face, save for his eyes and a blue cloth covering his mouth, nose and ears. The voice said, "Mezo Shoji. Alternate name: Tentacole. Utilizes a quirk that allows him to grow multiple arms, with endpoints that can serve multiple functions (sight, hearing, talking, etc.)"

The next one showed nothing at all. The voice said, "Toru Hagakure. Alternate name: Invisible girl. Utilizes a quirk that grants her invisibility."

The last one was a boy with short blond hair. The voice said, "Mashirao Ojiro. Alternate name: Tailman. Utilizes a quirk that grants him a tail, which he can utilize with his martial arts."

The Imperator said, "Bringing them down is gonna be tough. They've got support, range, strength, defense, offense and speed all in one group. I'm gonna have to play it defensively. Alright. Let's bring them out."

The Darkness screeched, "Yeeeesssss. Tear them to pieces."

The Imperator was in front of the dorms. He yelled out, "Class 1-A! I've come for you!"

Inside one of the houses, the students of Class 1-A were sitting in a common area on couches. Midoriya was sitting next to Uraraka and Iida. He faintly heard the Imperator's yells and said, "Hey guys. Do you hear that?"

The students looked outside and saw the Imperator yelling for them. Asui said, "Who is that guy?"

Bakugo said, "I don't know. I'll go shut him up."

Iida said, "That wouldn't be wise. We don't know if he's a villain or not. He may be looking for help."

Mineta said with a lisp, "He's wearing a hood, cape, sharp silver armor and we can't see his face. He has EVIL written all over him."

Tokoyami said, "Even then, we should see what he wants, but be on guard."

Bakugo said, "I'm going to find out what he wants."

Bakugo walked out and was face to face with the Imperator. He said, "The hell do you want?"

The Imperator said, "You and every student from Class 1-A holed up in there. I'm in the middle of a war where I'm from, and need soldiers."

Bakugo replied, "Well you're not gonna find any."

The Imperator said, "I'm not asking kindly. You're coming with me."

Bakugo smiled and said, "Great. Now I get to kick your ass."

The Imperator laughed and said, "You can try."

Bakugo held out his hands, and explosions erupted from the palms of his hands. He shot forward and before he knew it, he was right up close to the Imperator. He shot another explosion downward, sending him over the Imperator until he was behind him, then he tried to shoot an explosion at his back. Suddenly, the Darkness tendrils shot out and grabbed his arms, throwing him overhead and slamming him into the ground. As he stood up, the Imperator punched him in the stomach. He tried to attack with a right hook, but the Imperator deflected it, jabbing him in the throat and striking him in the face. In rage, Bakugo shot back and tried to head-butt him. The Imperator slid to the side, grabbing the back of his head and slamming his face into his knee. He then grabbed him by the neck, and threw him into the ground.

Everyone watched in shock and horror from the dorm. Midoriya said, "Kacchan didn't even last a minute! How strong is this guy?"

The Imperator then grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. Bakugo tried to blast him with his arms, but the tendrils grabbed his hands and forced them to his sides. The Imperator tightened his grip and began to choke him.

In the dorms, Uraraka said, "He's killing him! We have to do something!"

Iida said, "I'll run to school and alert Aizawa!"

Midoriya said, "The rest of us will try to hold him off."

Mineta yelled, "Midoriya, are you crazy?! Bakugo didn't even last a minute! What are the rest of us supposed to do?!"

Midoriya said, "If we don't do something now, Bakugo's gonna die!"

Outside, the Imperator was smiling as he continued to choke out Bakugo, who was fading fast. He looked to see Midoriya and Todoroki leaving the building. Todoroki said, "Midoriya, get him off of Bakugo. I'll provide cover for Iida."

Midoriya nodded, and a green electricity began surging through him. He jumped forward while Todoroki shot out a wall of ice to the right. The Imperator smiled as Midoriya charged and kicked him in the stomach. He dropped Bakugo as he rocketed back, sliding along the ground. He said, "So you're Izuku Midoriya. Impressive power. But if you're fighting me, I'd recommend not holding back. And recommend less obvious cover for a messenger."

A tendril shot through the ice, stretching far out and going after Iida. He was using the engines in his legs to boost his running speed. The tendril grabbed his leg and pulled him, smashing him through the ice and throwing him into Midoriya. Before he could do anything the other students began attacking. Todoroki shot a torrent of flames, that the Imperator ran out of the way off. He shot a tendril under the flames, grabbing Todoroki by the chest and throwing him back inside the dorm. Kirishima tried to strike him, hardening his body. The Imperator delivered a powerful punch to his stomach, cracking through his hardened exterior and sending him flying back. Uraraka ran to Asui and Sero, saying, "I'll give you zero-G. Wrap him up with your quirks!". Sero said, "Got it." Uraraka touched both of them on their back, lifting them in the air over the Imperator. Asui spat out a 20 ft tongue while Sero shot tape at him, wrapping his body. He planted his feet, yanking them downward into the ground. He clotheslined Sero, then stomped on Asui's back. While this was happening, Kaminari was preparing to sneak behind him, planning to grab and electrocute him.

The Darkness yelled, "Behind you!"

The Imperator turned, and back-kicked Kaminari, and shot out a tendril that knocked Uraraka into Midoriya and Iida. Mineta began throwing out the balls on his head, one of which the Imperator stepped on, sticking him to the ground.

The Imperator said, "Damn. I didn't think about how sticky these would be."

Mineta yelled, "He's stuck! Ojiro, Tokoyami, Sato, go!"

Ojiro and Sato ran in close. Sato ate a handful of sugar cubes, suddenly causing his muscles to expand. Tokoyami kept his distance as a birdlike purple entity with only hands and a ghost tail emerged from his body. It stayed connected by the ghost tail as it flew out alongside Ojiro and Sato. Ojiro flicked his tail and Sato punched downwards, both of which were blocked by the Imperator. He grabbed Ojiro by the tail with a tendril, throwing him in the air while blocking Sato's attacks. He ducked under one and hit him in the side. But Tokoyami's shadow came up and slashed at him, knocking him to the floor and off of Mineta's ball. This allowed an opening for Ashido to start spraying acid at him, which managed to land on his face. A tendril grabbed her by the neck and he stood back up, his face regenerating in the shadow of his hood. Tokoyami prepared to strike with his shadow again, but the Imperator jumped out of the way, rushing Tokoyami faster than he could recall his shadow. He jumped out of the way of his coming charge, but was unable to evade his coming other tendril which grabbed him, slamming him and Ashido together and throwing them both into Sato.

Mineta tried to run but was grabbed in the back by a tendril and thrown face first into the ground. Koji watched from afar in fear, but before he could run, the Imperator bit into his back with a tendril and threw him into the ground again.

The Imperator said, "I must say, I'm disappointed. I was geared up for one hell of a fight."

Yaoyorozu, Shoji, and Jiro charged him. Yaoyorozu's arm began glowing and she summoned a staff from the glow as well as an arm shield. Jiro's wires plugged into the Imperator's head, sending the sound-waves of her heartbeat directly into his head. He grabbed his head in pain as the sounds rattled his teeth. Shoji turned all the ends of his arms into fists. He struck the Imperator in the stomach while Yaoyorozu struck him in the face with the staff. Aoyama ran between them and shot a laser from his stomach, knocking him into the ground. The tendrils shot out of his stunned body, knocking away Jiro. This allowed the Imperator to recover and grab Yaoyorozu and Shoji with the tendrils, throwing them together.

The Darkness yelled, "The Invisible Girl! She's behind you."

The Imperator immediately threw a back kick, catching Hagakure with it and throwing her back.

The Imperator said, "Thanks for the save."

Midoriya recovered and said, "Damn it. He's way stronger than I thought. He's beating all of us."

Iida said, "He clearly has battlefield experience. He knew our plan just by seeing it in action. We need to disable those tendrils."

Midoriya thought to himself, "Iida's right. This guy seems to be playing defensively. Using those tendrils to keep his distance."

Bakugo finally recovered yelling, "Hey, asshole! Take this!"

Bakugo held his hands together, unleashing a massive explosion from his hands. The Imperator used the Darkness to summon a shield. It was decayed and looked like scales and the tendrils melted together. He blocked the flames with it, rushing through it and diverting them.

Midoriya noticed this and said, "Wait a minute. He's not trying to kill us! He's blocking and diverting the explosion from the rest of the class around him."

Uraraka said, "He wants us for something, otherwise he would've killed us by now."

The Imperator reached Bakugo as his explosion ended, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him into the wall of the house as his shield dissipated. He then yelled, "I can hear you, Midoriya. And you're right. I want you."

Midoriya said, "Why do you want us? Who are you?"

The Imperator retracted the Darkness, happy that he could get a chance to explain himself.

He said, "I come from an alternate dimension. In my version of Earth, I rule over the planet. Humanity is a prideful, war-hungry group of animals, ready to tear each other apart. I alone came and resolved this conflict, uniting them all under my empire. There has been nothing but peace. But a small cabal of heroes calling themselves the "Honorbound" have been a thorn in my side. I had soldiers to take them on, but in an act of disobedience, they fought the Honorbound and lost. Now their numbers are greater, and I am without warriors that can take them. That's why I'm here for you."

Iida said, "We'd love to help, but you attacked us first of all. Second of all, we can't just up and leave our school."

The Imperator said, "The thing about that is you don't have a choice. Those bite marks from these tendrils? They injected you with a piece of the entity bound to me, the Darkness. I just needed sometime for it to fully form and develop in your bodies. You belong to me, whether you like it or not."

The three were shocked at first, then Midoriya grabbed his head in pain. The Imperator said, "Oh look. Midoriya is the first one to fall."

Uraraka and Iida rushed to his side. Uraraka said, "Izuku fight it! You have to fight his influence!"

After a moment, a black mist enveloped his eyes and faded away. Midoriya said, "What happened? I don't feel much different."

The Imperator said, "Come here."

Midoriya said, "No, we're not going with..."

Midoriya grabbed his head in pain again.

The Imperator explained, "You can still act and talk and move as if you were you. But your brain has been rewired. You can't hurt me, you can't do anything against my wishes, you have to act in a way that benefits me, and of course follow my orders."

In moments, both Iida and Uraraka grabbed their heads in pain, morphing their eyes.

Midoriya said, "What happens if we keep going against it?"

The Imperator said, "Your minds break, and you're unable to control your body. You can still feel things and think conscious thoughts, but your body becomes a mindless puppet for the Darkness to envelop. And it won't hold back on your physical limitations. You'll feel your body burning and your muscles screaming and your bones shattering. But you won't be able to do anything. You'll just be passengers as your body is torn to shreds as slowly and painfully as needed to win a battle. Believe me when I say there is no worse hell than that! So for your own sake, don't try and fight it."

As everyone around him began coming to, they all attempted to fight back, but were stopped by the pain in their heads.

The Imperator smiled and said, "From this day forward, you are my new Winds of Destruction. My elite. Now that I have you, let's return back to my world."

He pressed a button on his armor, and a portal opened back to Abraxas.

The Imperator said, "Let's go. Time is money."

Midoriya looked at Iida and said, "We can't do this. I don't know what he's gonna have us try and do."

The Imperator yelled back, "You really don't have a choice in this. You either come back alive, or you come back as mindless puppets. I know you'd prefer not to spend your existence as a puppet."

Iida said, "The last thing I would want as class rep is anyone getting hurt on my watch. We'll find a way to fight against him when the time comes. Until then, let's do what he says and follow him."

Bakugo yelled, "Hell no! I'm not following your stupid orders!"

Bakugo tried to attack but was stopped by further pains in his head. The Imperator casually sauntered over to him, raised his hand and karate chopped Bakugo in the neck, knocking him out. He then summoned a tendril which wrapped up his body and lifted it in the air. He said, "Come on."

The group looked at each other and, with reluctance, followed the Imperator into the portal.

 **Honorbound Base**

X was brought back into base and heard the news about the Siphon and the new power. X said, "So this thing can give us the chance to kill the Imperator?"

Genos nodded and said, "The problem is, I don't know how it works, or how long it takes."

X said, "Do you at least know why the Imperator had it?"

Genos shook his head.

Tatsumaki said, "Big deal. Holding him down won't be a problem for me."

Genos said, "Maybe, but the constructs of the Darkness are unaffected by your power. All of us will need to restrain him until we can activate this."

Makoto said, "We maybe should make our move before he acquires this new power."

Goku asked, "But what's gonna draw him out of his palace without protection?"

The group was silent as they pondered this for a moment. Genos said, "I think I might know of someone who could help."

The group looked at Genos. He said, "The Imperator has a machine that allows him to travel to other dimensions, those that he hasn't merged here. In my world, there is someone who possesses incredible power. His name is Saitama. He may be able to help us."

X asked, "Why didn't you go after him while you were still in the palace?"

Genos said, "I tried. When I was there I took a portal to my world and searched for him, but I didn't find him anywhere. I have reason to believe he's in one of the prisons."

X said, "Great. There's only about 10,000 prisons on the planet to search. And if he is in a prison and is as strong as you say is, why hasn't he broken out yet?"

Genos said, "I don't know. That's why I need your help to find him."

Ryuji said, "No sweat. We can help you out. We'll go into the Metaverse and find some Sangheili shadows to see what they know."

Genos said, "What are you talking about?"

Ren said, "We're the reason you switched sides. We're able to change your heart and see into your subconscious."

Ann said, "If we do that, we can find out what the Imperator did with Saitama."

Genos said, "Is it alright if I accompany you?"

Ren nodded.

 **Abraxas Palace**

The Imperator arrived back with the students. The Arbiter saw this and said, "Welcome back, Master. I see you managed to find quite the surplus of reinforcements."

The Imperator said, "Children. This is my second in command. Thel Vadam. Better known as the Arbiter. He'll be overseeing your training, induction, and all that good stuff. But first, I want to know how our project is coming along."

The Arbiter said, "It's almost finished. We expect to have it completed by the day's end."

The students looked around, absorbing the massive scope of the palace they were in. Midoriya said, "This place. How did he build all of this?"

Mineta yelled, "'How did he build all of this'?! Is that the best thing you can say right now? We're trapped in another dimension serving a maniac and all you can say is 'how did he build all this?'"

Uraraka said, "Mineta, calm down! Panicking isn't gonna do anything."

Asui tapped her finger to her chin and said, "Uraraka's right. If we do what he says, he'll probably let us go sooner."

The Imperator said, "Listen up! From here on out, you are to go purely by your hero names."

Kirishima asked, "What? Why?"

The Imperator said, "Because, in this realm members of the Honorbound known as Phantom Thieves, are capable of changing and altering the makeup of your heart if they know your real name. From this moment on, you are to purely go by hero names only. Try to say them out loud, and you know the drill. So...

Midoriya is Deku,

Uraraka is Uravity,

Iida is Ingenium,

Asui is Froppy,

Kirishima is Red Riot,

Mineta is Grape Juice,

Sero is Cellophane,

Koda is Anima,

Ashido is Pinky,

Hagakure is Invisible Girl,

Tokoyami is Tsukuyomi,

Bakugo is Kacchan,

Kaminari is Chargebolt,

Shoji is Tentacole,

Sato is Sugarman,

Yaoyorozu is Creati,

Jiro is Earphone Jack,

Ojiro is Tailman,

and Aoyama is Laserpoint"

Aoyama said, "My hero name is 'Can't stop twinkling."

The Imperator responded, "Too many words and syllables. Plus not intimidating in the least. As for you, Todoroki..."

Todoroki looked up.

The Imperator finished, "I'm calling you Binary. These are your names from now on. You will not say anything regarding this, understood?"

The group looked at each other with concern for a while. The Imperator yelled, "Understood?!"

At once the group went, "Yes!"

The Imperator chuckled and said, "Good. Thel, take them to the training rooms and figure out the applications for their powers."

The Arbiter bowed and said, "It will be done, master."


	10. Chapter 10

**Mementos**

The Phantom Thieves and Genos were in Mementos.

Genos said, "So this is the manifestation of humanity's desires?"

Ryuji said, "Yep. It's called Mementos."

Genos said, "Alright. Take me to these 'shadows' so I can find what they know about Saitama."

The group nodded and they entered the tunnels of Mementos. They soon came across a real Orc soldier, wearing more regal armor than normal ones, except it was made entirely out of animal bones and ribs. Genos said, "That's a war chief. The Imperator only brings them out for special assignment support. They're extremely dangerous combatants."

Makoto said, "He must've started sending soldiers here with Akechi's phone."

Yusuke said, "That certainly won't make our duties any easier."

Ren said, "He should have information about Saitama. Let's go."

 **Abraxas Palace**

The Imperator was overseeing the construction of the tablet of ruin. It was being built in an underground chamber, right under the palace. He smiled as orcs hammered away at it, nailing it into fine shapes while sangheili used special plasma torches to carve out the finer details.

The Imperator said, "How much longer until it's finished?"

An orc yelled out, "I'd say a couple more hours. Pretty soon we'll start putting in the symbols."

The Imperator said, "Excellent. I'll be here until it's finished."

 **Training arena**

The students were all together in a massive arena. It was also an underground chamber, and was about the size of a soccer field. The Arbiter looked on from a viewing platform hovering right over the arena. He pressed a button on the console in front of him allowing him to broadcast his voice over the loud speakers. He said, "This is the training arena. Here, I'll be able to observe your abilities and decide on the best strategic placements for you, as well as perhaps designing suit upgrades to enhance your powers if needed. I'm also bringing in the last two remaining members of the Winds. Jetstream Sam and Mistral."

Sam and Mistral entered the arena. Mineta blushed at the sight of Mistral's feminine figure. She was followed by her drones. They were small balls with three robotic humanoid arms on each of them. Sam said, "Hola niños."

Tokoyami said, "I take it you're the Imperator's other Winds?"

Mistral said, "Oui monsieur."

Midoriya said, "What kind of powers do you have?"

He pulled out a burnt notebook and a pen from his back pocket.

Sam tilted his head and said, "Why do you want to know?"

Uraraka said, "He does this a lot. Deku keeps notes on heroes and powers so he can come up with strategies."

Mistral said, "How about a demonstration instead of a presentation, _garçon?"_

Mistral stepped on one of her drones, pulling the arms right off of them. She took the ends of two arms, and connected them together. She did the same with two more pairs of arms, then the arms grabbed the other ones, straightening them into a makeshift staff. The hands at either end of the staff each grabbed a knife from a slot Mistral's leg, essentially making a spear. The other drones swarmed her body, disconnecting their arms and attaching them to slots all over her back and sides. When they were done, Mistral had hundreds of arms coming from her back, carrying her spear behind her.

Sam said, "Must you always be so extravagant?"

Mistral said, "Faire chier."

Aoyama said, "She said, 'piss off.' I speak some french as well, m'lady!"

Mineta yelled, "Hey hands off, Laserpoint! I got dibs!"

Aoyama said, "I'm afraid you're mistaken, monsieur!"

Iida said, "Both of you need to cease your argument!"

Bakugo said, "All of you shut up!"

The Arbiter's voice boomed on the loud speakers. He said, "QUIET! The sooner we get through this, the sooner we can return you home. There are three types of robotic soldiers. Brawlers, gladiators, and rangers. I'd recommend using your power and combat skill on those you'd be most efficient against."

Sero said, "I get it! It'll help you decide where we'd be best in a fight."

The Arbiter said, "Correct, cellophane."

Koda asked, "How real is this, sir?"

The Arbiter said, "Real enough. Rangers utilize blasters fashioned by my species, and the gladiators utilize my species' energy blades. And the brawlers have no weapons, but possess more versatile hand to hand combat programming routines."

Hagakure said, "What happens if we get hurt?"

Asui said, "I agree. Wasn't the whole point for us to be his soldiers?"

The Arbiter said, "The Imperator possesses healing powers for you as well as himself. And the robots will ensure you don't die. If you're in a critical state, they'll cease attack and bring you to him."

Midoriya said, "I wonder if it's like Recovery Girl's power."

The Arbiter said, "That's enough prep. It's time to start."

The Arbiter hit a button. At once, doors all around the arena began opening. The white drones that normally service the city came inside. The gladiators were armed with singular metal bars. When they activated, the blade that formed was odd shaped. It was two oval shaped blades extending forwards from both sides of the bar, facing away from the hand holding it. Both energy blades were symmetrical, their shape closing to fine points that were close but never touched at the ends. The rangers drew blasters similar to the Arbiter's blaster.

Midoriya said, "Get ready guys. This is real."

Midoriya powered up, a green energy running through his body and making it glow. Everyone else stood ready. Mistral raised her spear and Sam drew his sword. The sound of energy running through it caught Kirishima's attention. He said, "Woah. Killer sword."

Sam said, "The High Frequency Murasama blade. It uses high frequency vibrations to break down molecular density. An excellent cutting tool."

The robots powered up and were battle ready.

 **Music - Hero A - My Hero Academia OST**

The Arbiter said, "Begin!"

The robots charged in all at once. Tokoyami yelled, "Dark shadow!"

Dark shadow emerged from his body and rushed forward past everyone, slashing and clawing away at the bots.

Kirishima said, "Froppy! Throw me at them!"

Tsuyu nodded and shot her tongue at him, wrapping it around Kirishima. She jumped high in the air and whipped her tongue, throwing Kirishima like a human missile. He hardened his body landing in the ground. It created a shockwave that knocked the robots off balance. Bakugo and Midoriya jumped in to start attacking. Bakugo yelled, "Outta my way, Deku!"

Midoriya threw a roundhouse kick into a brawler's head, knocking it clean off. It shot off with enough force to hit a nearby ranger in the head, blasting it to pieces. Bakugo fired explosions from his hands to keep rocketing forward, grabbing two gladiators by the heads and blasting away at them. He then threw the husks to the ground, and blasted away at them.

On the other side of the arena, Uraraka ran through, evading the swings of gladiators and brawlers, and touching their torsos. They levitated into the air. Sam ran in with his sword, leaping into the air and slicing through them in a tornado of strikes. When he landed, the robots fell to pieces as Uraraka released them. Mistral ran in, using her multiple arms to twirl the spear around her at rapid speeds. She cut her way through the robots like they were nothing. A brawler tried to grab her in a headlock, but she threw it overhead, twirled around and struck it in the head with a sideswipe.

Jiro plugged the earlobe audio jacks into speakers on her legs. They activated and broadcasted her heartbeat at high frequency, disabling the robots with the same effect as an EMP. Aoyama blasted them apart with his navel laser.

One gladiator lunged at Sam from behind and Midoriya shouted, "Sam, behind you!"

Sam planted the sword in its holster turned to the robot lunging him, and pulled the trigger. It shot out at rapid speed, he grabbed it as it shot out, and used it's momentum to slice through the robot, cutting it in half. Midoriya thought to himself, "Woah. I don't think I've seen anyone draw their sword that fast."

Yaoyorozu summoned a sword which she pulled out of a glow in her arm. She rushed and stabbed a brawler about to hit Midoriya while he was distracted by Sam's swordsmanship. She said, "Eyes up, Deku!" Koda called out and yelled, "Insects and creatures of the underground! Help us defeat this terrible mechanical monsters!"

At his voice, various bugs and insects began crawling out of the ground, swarming the bots and crawling into the openings in their armor. They bit and chewed at the wiring, shutting them down bit by bit.

Sero said, "Tentacole! Use your dupli-arms and shield yourself!"

Shoji used his webbed arms and wrapped himself, guarding himself. Sero shot tape at his chest, wrapping him and throwing him around the arena. The momentum combined with his size and strength allowed them to smash the robots apart easily.

Iida was running in circles around the battlefield, the engines in his legs keeping him moving at constant speed. He used his speed to kick through rangers faster than they could draw their guns. He looked to his side to see Sam running by him. Sam said, "You're fast, kid. Let's see you keep up with me."

Without warning Sam sped past Iida. Iida said, "This is an evaluation not a competition, Sam!"

Sam said, "Good thing, too. If it was, Mistral and I would be winning!"

Mineta was throwing out the balls on his head. One hit a ranger in the face, sticking to it. When it tried to pull it off, its hand got stuck to it. Mistral rushed in and sliced it in half with her spear. Mineta saw a brawler charging him. He threw a ball at his knee, then ran into it, tripping it up. The brawler fell onto its knees, sticking to the ground. Mistral capitalized on this and stabbed it through the head. Mistral said, "Impressionnant, mignon."

Mineta blushed and said to himself, "She's French! So hot!"

Mistral said, "I can hear you."

Ashido and Kaminari were grappling with brawlers. Ashido grabbed them by the heads and used acid to melt their faces while Kaminari discharged electricity into them, shutting them down. Sato pulled out a handful of sugar cubes from his pocket, and swallowed them all. At once, his muscles expanded and he used this enhanced strength to punch through the brawlers. Ojiro smashed through them with his tail alongside Sato. Rangers took aim on him, but were stopped by a joint attack from Sam and Iida.

Todoroki was surrounded by brawlers and gladiators, but he spun in place, creating shards and spikes of ice around him in a makeshift nest that trapped and impaled the metallic warriors. He then pressed his left hand to the ground, exploding a wave of fire out that roasted the bots.

Kirishima was punching his way through rangers and brawlers, his hardened skin protecting him from their blows and blasts and allowing him to tear through them. He smiled and said, "These things aren't so tough."

Without warning, a gladiator came up behind him, grabbing him by the shoulder, and stabbing him through the back with an energy blade.

 **Music end**

He spat up blood as he looked down at his chest, the blades peaking through. At once the robots ceased their combat and took note of Kirishima. Midoriya yelled, "Red Riot!"

The gladiator withdrew its blade and said, "Combatant incapacitated. Initiating medical protocols."

The gladiator grabbed Kirishima, carrying him in both hands, and ran out of the arena.

Sato said, "What happened?"

Yaoyorozu said, "A gladiator came up behind him and stabbed him in the back. They're taking him to the Imperator for healing."

The Arbiter said, "You needn't worry. Your friend will be just fine. In the meantime, let's continue our evaluation."

Kaminari yelled, "Come on! You can't expect us to go back to fighting when our friend is hurt!"

The Arbiter said, "I told you not to worry. He will recover quickly. One of the advantages of training against an energy blade is that they cauterize wounds instantly, making bleeding out impossible. So let's get back to it. I've already gathered interesting data. Just a little more, and I will have what I need."

 **Tablet room**

The tablet was nearing completion. The markings were almost completely etched in. Soon, the gladiator ran in carrying Kirishima, who was fading out of consciousness.

The Imperator looked down at him and said, "What happened?"

The gladiator said, "Combat training injury. Medical aid required."

The Imperator brought his hand under his mask and sighed. He said, "You people are damn lucky I have this power."

He took that same hand and placed it on Kirishima's wounded chest. After a few shimmers of light, the holes in his chest were completely sealed. His skin and muscle regenerated over his wounds, until they vanished. The Imperator leaned over and began tapping him on the head. Kirishima came to, looking down at his chest to see it healed. He said, "What the...?! What happened?!"

The Imperator said, "You got stabbed in the stomach by a gladiator. I healed you. Now get back to training."

Kirishima was taken back by how quickly the Imperator answered. Kirishima said, "Wait, how long have I been out?"

The Imperator said, "I'd say about 30 seconds. Yes, my healing does work that fast. Just as long as you're alive when I heal you, you'll be fine. Now get back in there. I'm very busy right now."

Kirishima slowly stood up, surprised at his own stamina. He smelt a faint odor coming from his chest, touched it, and felt a little wetness. He asked, "Did you spit on me?"

The Imperator said, "No more questions. Go!"

Kirishima said, "Woah. Ok."

Kirishima left the chamber as the Imperator continued observing the work of the orcs and sangheili.

 **Mementos**

The Phantom Thieves had triumphed over the war chief with Genos' help. Genos said, "If you don't want to get blasted back to hell, answer our questions. Where is Saitama?"

The war chief said, "You'll have to be more specific. Who is Saitama?"

Genos said, "My master. From my dimension. Did the Imperator do something to him when he captured me?"

The war chief said, "You know, I overheard the Imperator talking about it with the Arbiter after arriving back with you. He just said 'your master', but if Saitama is 'your master', then you'll find him in hell."

Genos said, "Don't play games with me, where is he?"

The war chief said, "No. Hell is a literal physical place. It's accessible from any dimension, so long as that dimension has the planet Mars. Every dimension's Mars has a portal to the same Hell. The Imperator sent him there and had him trapped there. Probably couldn't control or stop him."

Genos said, "So we need to travel to Mars in order to access Hell, and that's where we'll find Saitama?"

The war chief said, "That's right. So long as you got the gear to breath up there."

Ren said, "You seem pretty ok with just telling us all this. Aren't you a soldier of the Imperator?"

The war chief said, "Ah, that shrahk eater never showed me any damn respect. Posting me in the Pits, when I deserve to guard Abraxas."

Yusuke said, "It may actually be to our benefit to have someone against the Imperator here."

Ryuji said, "Maybe he can even get us into his palace?"

The war chief said, "Nope, tried that! He's got that place sealed up tight. I think the only one he'd remotely trust enough to let in is the Arbiter."

Makoto said, "Even then, a mole on the inside could be useful. What's your name?"

The war chief said, "Ratbag. And I'll gladly be your orc on the inside. Can't do any assassinations or anything. Don't think I'd last long in that situation, but I can give you all sorts of secrets and info I can learn."

Genos scanned his heart, ensuring he was telling the truth, and found he was.

Genos said, "Alright then. We've got what we need. Let's head back and tell X what we know."

The group released Ratbag and left. Ann turned back and said, "Thanks for your help, Ratbag!"

Ratbag said, "Wait! There's one more thing you should know, about the Imperator!"

Ren said, "What?"

Ratbag replied, "You can't kill him."

Genos said, "We have a way."

Ratbag immediately interjected, "No no no. Even if you've got a way to kill him, you can't. I was hearing about how he had something in his heart. If he dies, and the Darkness ain't in him, that something will open the underground chambers. I don't know what's down there, but it'll be the end of the world if it opens."

Ann said, "Why would he have something like that?"

Ratbag said, "Insurance that his kingdom and ideas wouldn't outlive him. If the world didn't agree with his ideas of peace, he'd sooner burn it to the ground upon death, then risk them starting up their wars again."

Ryuji said, "That's bad, you guys."

Makoto said, "Would he really be crazy enough to do that?"

Genos said, "He would. I worked close by his side. I know."

Ren said, "We'll warn our friends. Thank you, Ratbag."

 **Honorbound Base**

X said, "He's on Mars?"

Haru said, "No. He's in Hell, which is accessed through a portal on Mars."

BT said, "That would be out of range of our teleportation systems."

Ren said, "But more importantly, he has something in his chambers underground. If he dies, and the Darkness isn't in him, then whatever's down there gets released."

Yusuke finished, "It has the potential to eradicate all life on the planet."

X said, "Shit. Even if that's a lie, it's not a risk we can take. Not until we know for sure what's down there. As for Mars..."

Goku said, "I can get us up there!"

X said, "We've been over this. You use that instant transmission, you let off an energy burst that the Imperator can track and find us. It's too unique a signature."

Goku said, "Maybe not. If I keep flashing all over the planet, he'll never find us. I'll keep flashing back to the same spots over and over. It should throw him off long enough for us to get to Mars."

Genos said, "Ok. You and I will go up there, find Saitama and return."

X said, "If you're headed up there, Goku, you'll need this."

X grabbed a small plastic device from the shelf. She gave it to Goku and said, "Put this in the roof of your mouth. It'll attach to the roof of your mouth and produce oxygen when you inhale. Your body can survive the atmospheric pressure, all you need now is respiration."

Genos said, "I'll be fine. I don't need to breath."

Ruby said, "So we just wait on Earth while you two are gone?"

Yang said, "That's all we can do, sis."

Toph said, "Does anybody else hear that?"

She suddenly grabbed her head in pain. The voice of the Darkness screeched in her head and said, "I'm broadcasting this on all channels on a frequency only you can hear, blind one. Say these exact words, and I will release your feeble mind."

At once Toph's face went blank and she began reciting words like a robot. She said, "This is a message from the Imperator."

Toph's voice suddenly changed to sound like the Imperator. With her face still completely expressionless, she said, "Honorbound. Your resistance end today. I want you, and I want the Siphon. Bring it to Abraxas. Bring all your soldiers. We finish this today."

Toph suddenly fell to the ground unconscious. The group rushed to help her.

Ryuji said, "What was that?!"

X said, "A broadcast. A mind control signal. All it does is black out anyone who hears it and make them say things he wants them to say. He broadcast it on a frequency only she could hear. He wanted us to hear what he had to say, even if he didn't find us."

Toph quickly came to, rubbing her head as she said, "What happened?"

Ryuji said, "The Imperator did some mind thing to challenge us to a fight in Abraxas."

Toph stood up and said, "Sounds like fun!"

Pearl said, "We're not gonna go for it, are we? It's obviously a trap."

X said, "Most likely. But even if it is, we have an opportunity to take him down. Here's the plan. Goku and Genos will go to Mars while the rest of us go to fight the Imperator and those new recruits. When you have him, come back and you can help us fight them."

Garnet said, "It'd probably be smarter to wait for them to get back."

X said, "We don't know how long that'll take or how long the Imperator will wait for us."

BT said, "I'm picking up new information. An alert has been sounded in Abraxas. The entire city is going into lockdown mode."

Amethyst asked, "What does that mean?"

Raiden explained, "It means his palace is going underground and the walls are falling as well. Abraxas is just gonna be one big empty city."

Toph said, "Good."

Tornado said, "It means we don't have to worry about hurting anyone with collateral damage when we tear this guy apart."

Garnet said, "This isn't smart. We're basically inviting ourselves to walk right into his trap."

X said, "Garnet, think about it. He's never called us out like this before. Ever. If he ever has a plan or a trap, it's through some sort of red herring or signal. He's never called us out directly like this. He's become irrational. We can use that to our advantage. And if you truly think this is a trap, then we're gonna need all the help we can get. From you and everyone in this room."

Garnet looked to the side, and after a while said, "Alright. But let's be prepared for anything."

Goku walked over to Genos. Goku said, "Alright! We'll be back soon with this Saitama guy! Genos, grab my shoulder."

Genos grabbed Goku's shoulder. Goku placed two fingers to his forehead, and in an instant, the two disappeared.

X said, "Everyone else! Suit up."

 **Abraxas Palace Underground chamber**

 **One hour earlier...**

The orcs and sangheili were making the finishing touches to the tablet. The last orc hit the final chisel, and it exploded a wave of black and white fiery energy. The Imperator was barely moved, while the orcs and sangheili were thrown back. He paid them no mind as he walked to the tablet, touching it with his hand. The Darkness reacted, and the energy coursing through the tablet shot into his body faster than he was prepared. He grabbed his arm in pain, writhing on the ground as a burning sensation took hold of him. As the black and white flames burned hotter and hotter, he let out one bloodcurdling scream, and the fire faded away. As he stood, he shook his hands, and the fire returned to his palms. He had gained the power to take. He smiled, feeling it coursing through him. He pressed a finger to his ear and said, "Arbiter. It's done. End the training cycle and send Deku to the throne room."

The Arbiter responded, "Yes sir."

 **Throne room**

 **Later...**

The Imperator was sitting at his throne with Midoriya standing before him.

Midoriya said, "What did you want with me?"

The Imperator said, "Your power. I want to know more about it. The file on you said it's some strength thing that can destroy your body at full power. I only called you here because I want to know everything you don't want to tell your friends. So tell me how it works."

Midoriya was about to stay silent, but the influence of the Darkness forced him to speak. He said, "The quirk is called One for All. It's a power passed down from generation to generation, getting stronger and stronger. My hero and idol, All Might, was the previous user and gave it to me. I still have a lot to learn, and I can't use it at 100%, otherwise, I break that part of my body. I mainly only use it at about 8% right now. I'm working to train my body until it's strong enough to withstand the full force of One for All."

The Imperator said, "You said it was your idol who gave this to you. What exactly did he see in you that made him believe you were worthy of this?"

Midoriya said, "He had said he admired my heroism and selflessness. I rushed into danger without a second thought to help when no one else could."

The Imperator said, "I see. So what can your power do at 100%?"

Midoriya said, "Well, if I flick at water at 100%, the force creates a whirlpool in the water."

The Imperator said, "But at the cost of your fingers."

Midoriya nodded.

The Imperator said, "I just needed to know what you were capable of before I did this."

He waved his hand, and the black and white fire emerged. A screeching sound echoed through the halls. A white orb appeared behind Midoriya. It opened and flowered into a gaping maw, preparing to swallow Midoriya.

Midoriya said, "Wait, what's happening?"

The Imperator said, "You are being taken. Soon you will have power beyond your wildest fantasies."

Midoriya yelled, "No!", before being sucked into the maw and vanishing.

After about 10 minutes, he waved his fiery hand again, and the screeching commenced again. This time, a black orb swelled from the ground up, until it finally burst. Midoriya stood, but he was changed.

His body was dichromatic, with the top half of his body being black and gradating to the white in the bottom half of his body. His face no longer was eyes or a nose or any other facial features. It was a single white swirling vortex that engulfed his whole face. His body constantly twitched, like he was fighting to regain his own will.

The Imperator laughed and said, "Outstanding. I can feel the power you wield, coming from here. Just wait until they get a look at you. And just wait until the rest of your class falls to my power."

The Darkness screeched, "NOOOO!"

The Imperator grabbed his head and said, "What?"

The Darkness said, "You cannot take them all! Your body will not sustain the power of Oryx. If you take more than half, your power will make your body disintegrate into nothing! Irreparable!"

"So, I can only take half of them. I should choose those with real strength and versatility then."

The Imperator pressed a finger to his ear and said, "Thel. Send the following students to the throne room: Kacchan, Binary, Tsukuyomi, Earphone Jack, Anima, Invisible girl, Pinky, Chargebolt, and Creati. And prepare a broadcast. It's time to finish this."

The Arbiter responded, "Yes sir."

The Imperator said, "Oh, and prepare the beasts. Anima can talk to animals, yes?"

The Arbiter said, "That is correct."

 **Honorbound base**

The honorbound were preparing for war. Ren said to X, "I wish we could be of more help."

X said, "Well, if he has new soldiers, you guys can change them in the fight. That'll help us turn the tide."

Yang said to Toph, "Hey, Toph. How about we make this interesting? See who can take out more of his cronies?"

Toph smiled and said, "You're on! But I'll warn you, it's gonna hurt losing to a blind girl."

Yang said, "But I'm not even blind."

A pebble hit her in the back of the head as Toph giggled.

John said, "BT, you've got me coded into you neural link, right? I'll need to be ready to initiate pilot link."

BT said, "Copy that, John-117."

Ruby said, "Your name is John-117? I never heard the '117' part. What's that about?"

John explained, "Where I'm from, I'm a Spartan. We're humans taken as from our families as children, and put through mental and physical alterations. They give us surgery to augment our bodies to past normal human limitations. John-117 was the name given to me. Most people know me as Master Chief. For my title: Master Chief Petty Officer John-117."

Ruby said, "So you just have a name and number? That's so sad."

John said, "It's for ranking and organization purpose. We're there to defeat the Covenant. A loose collection of alien races united under some fanatical dictatorship. The sangheili being one of those races."

Ruby said, "Really? So you've fought them before?"

John said, "Plenty of times. I know their tricks. My advice, don't divide your attention. Focus on taking out one at a time. They all have regenerating energy shields, so focusing on one will help you take them out faster."

The Gems were talking with Raiden. Amethyst said, "Should we all fuse into Alexandrite when the fight starts?"

Raiden said, "No. I think we should wait and see what he's got. If it's just him, stay unfused. More targets mean he has to divide his focus and gives us the advantage. Once more start showing up, you all can fuse together."

Pearl said, "I'll focus on maintaining ranged combat. Amethyst should focus on restraining the Imperator, and Garnet should focus on close range."

Raiden said, "I just hope the close range combat goes better than last time."

Amethyst said, "What happened last time?"

Raiden said, "We fought one of his soldiers named Jetstream Sam. We got our asses kicked."

Amethyst said, "That won't happen again. This time we've got your back."

 **Mars**

Goku and Genos appeared on the blood red surface of Mars. Genos said, "How's that respiration device working?"

Goku held up a thumbs up. Genos said, "Good. I'm picking up spatial abnormalities this way. The portal must be there. Follow me."

Genos powered up and began running at supersonic speeds. Goku began flying at the same speeds. Goku said, "So how strong is this Saitama guy?"

Genos said, "All I know is that he defeats 99% of his opponents in a single effortless punch."

Goku said, "I gotta know how he got that strong!"

Genos said, "100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10 kilometer run every day for 3 years straight."

Goku said, "That's it?!"

"That's what he told me. I suspect he's not telling me the full story, or doesn't even know the true secret of his power. How did you get as strong as you are?"

Goku explained, "Trained in gravity 100 times stronger than Earth's gravity, fought several potential universe-destroying tyrants, and took part in several galactic world tournaments."

Genos said, "Interesting. Ok, we're coming up on the portal."

The two stopped, and came across a pentagram inscribed into the ground. It suddenly opened into an energy rift, that absorbed the two, sucking them into Hell.

 **Abraxas**

Abraxas was empty. The citizens had been evacuated into underground shelters. The cities once active and bustling utopia was now cold and silent. The Imperator stood at the center of it, powered by the Darkness. He looked forward and saw X approaching. The Imperator said, "It's about time you showed up. I was starting to get worried you'd never show up."

X said, "Cut the crap. Why did you really want us out here?"

The Imperator said, "I wanted us all together. To show you what I'm capable of. To end your crusade."

X said, "Just wanted to know"

At once the Honorbound began jumping out of hiding. The Crystal Gems and Raiden jumped down from a nearby building; Toph, Yang and Ruby burst up from the ground, BT and John slid in from behind a building, and Tatsumaki floated over head.

The Imperator smiled and said, "Steel your nerves. Show me your resolve. Let's end this fight, once and for all."

At once, the Honorbound charged, the Imperator powered up and charged back. The battle for their world, and all worlds beyond, had begun.


	11. Chapter 11

**Abraxas**

The Imperator was charging forward. Without warning, a building that Tatsumaki held above him dropped down on top of him. He looked up and didn't even attempt to move as it crashed down. It let out a tremulous shockwave, spreading rubble and debris. Toph created an earth shield to block the debris from anyone.

X said, "Gems! Yang! Ruby! Raiden! Get in position. Tatsumaki and Toph, keep your distance and provide support. John and BT provide suppressive fire."

BT said, "Copy that. Suppressive cover fire."

Toph said, "I think it'll be fine! He's not gonna get out of that for a while."

X said, "Still. Kinda weird that he didn't even try to move."

Tatsumaki said, "I doubt he saw it coming."

Suddenly, the building exploded into a blast of white and black fire. Toph created another shield of rock to block the little rubble while Tatsumaki stopped the larger chunks. Yang yelled, "What the hell?!"

The Imperator stood in the crater created by the explosion, unfazed by any damage, but the Taken fire burned throughout his body. He said, "I've become far stronger than you realize."

At once the Gems charged in alongside Yang, Ruby and Raiden. Pearl and Amethyst summoned their weapons. Pearl slide beside him and tried to strike him in the back. The Darkness tendril shot out to attack her while another shot at Amethyst. He was then reduced to fighting hand to hand with Garnet, Ruby, Yang, and Raiden. Yang jumped up to strike him from above, Ruby charged from the front, Garnet went to strike his stomach, and Raiden went for his legs. In one swift motion, the Imperator jumped up to evade Raiden, kicked Garnet, grabbed Pearl and Amethyst out of the air, threw them into Ruby and Yang then dropped onto Raiden, pinning him to the ground beneath his foot. Pearl threw her spear into the Imperator's leg, forcing him off Raiden.

This momentary distraction allowed Garnet and Yang to tag team him. Garnet punched him in the stomach, Yang punched him overhead, then Garnet kneed him in the face, Yang jumped up and used the force from her gauntlets to propel a kick into his face. Amethyst jumped up and tried to strike him with her whip. The Imperator jumped back to evade Yang and Garnet's onslaught. He grabbed Yang with a tendril and threw her towards Amethyst. She tucked herself into a ball and sped forward, evading Yang, and speeding towards the Imperator. He charged an energy blast of Taken energy and launched both Garnet and Yang back. Pearl threw her spear, hitting him in the stomach. He looked down, pulled it out, and was unable to see Amethyst rolling and flying in. He was barely able to block the coming strike with his arms. Amethyst kept spinning against his arms, creating sparks against his armor. A tendril shot out and grabbed Amethyst throwing her behind him.

This gave Raiden and X the opportunity to start their assault. They both slashed down on him at rapid speeds. He used the armor on both his arms and legs to block their strikes. As they attacked, Toph shifted the earth underneath him, fusing it around his legs and holding him in place. This allowed Tatsumaki to lift Ruby into the air, giving her the angle to fire off several sniper shots into his face. He used his arms to block the shots, and the tendrils struck out to attack X and Raiden. Raiden easily deflected the strikes, but X was not so lucky. The tendril wrapped her up and slammed her into the ground. The Imperator used a free hand to break himself free of the rock formation around his leg.

Toph yelled out, "Raiden! X! Move!"

Raiden grabbed X and jumped away, allowing Toph to create a rock formation that hit the Imperator square in the chest. Tatsumaki floated in, using her power to restrain him. Darkness tendrils shot out to attack her, but BT jumped overhead, grabbing the tendrils and latching onto the side of a building. BT said, "Tendrils restrained."

Amethyst threw her whips around from behind him, wrapping his body and his arm, and bringing him down to his knees. Toph restrained his other arm, and his kneeling leg in a collection of rock.

X said, "John! The Siphon!"

John dropped in with the Siphon, planting it in the ground. It automatically reacted in the presence of the Imperator, and the cylindrical side opened to reveal an empty space inside. Soon after a stream of purplish energy began leaving the Imperator's body and entering the Siphon, collecting together into a single mass. The tentacles faded away as well.

Toph said, "That was easy."

X said, "I thought this'd be a little harder than that."

John said, "Something's not right. That was too easy. It's like he wasn't even trying."

X walked up to him until she was face to face with him and said, "Hey, big guy. I got some questions for you, while we're waiting."

The Imperator said, "And what would that be, X?"

X said, "Why did you make that so easy? Also, why did you come out here with no backup?"

The Imperator said, "There was no other way this confrontation would've gone. But I prepared for all possible contingencies. NOW!"

An orb of darkness appeared behind them, and soon it burst. Standing there were Bakugo, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Todoroki, Jiro, Koda, Ashido, Kaminari, Hagakure (whom they couldn't see) and Midoriya. All Taken.

Raiden said, "Who are they?"

The Imperator said, "Students. From another world. They've been given extraordinary power. Show them what you're capable of, 1-A!"

Tatsumaki restrained them all with her power, but Kaminari shot out a bolt of lightning without moving that stunned her. Yaoyorozu jumped up drew a sword from her body, and stabbed Tatsumaki in the stomach, throwing her into the ground. Yang yelled, "Tatsumaki!"

Midoriya spoke with a voice that sounded like his natural voice, but echoed over itself. He said, "Slaughter them. Save our master."

The Taken prepared for battle.

X said, "John! Get Tatsumaki out of here. Toph and Amethyst, keep him restrained. We'll keep them off of you."

Toph said, "What? You think I can't keep him held and fight at the same time? Let's do this!"

John ran to Tatsumaki and picked her up. He then said, "BT. Take us back to base! We can stabilize her there."

BT said, "Copy that. Standby."

In a haze of electricity, the three disappeared.

The Taken charged in and the Honorbound charged as well.

 **Hell**

Hell was a scorched inferno. There were mountainous rock formations bursting with fire and lava seeping through the cracks. Goku and Genos appeared, looking around. Genos said, "Take to the air. See if you can find him from above. He's bald, wears a yellow jumpsuit,, red boots and gloves, and a white cape."

Goku nodded. He flew into the air, searching around for Saitama. He pressed a finger to his ear and said, "I don't see anything!"

Genos said, "Follow me! I'll search down here while you search up there."

Goku said, "Got it."

The two began making their way around the scorched landscape. Goku faintly heard the sounds of combat. He heard a deep voice yell, "Control yourself, boy!"

A childlike voice yelled, "Ljösta!"

Goku looked to the direction of the voice. He saw two people fighting a massive ogre. One was a muscular man, with pale white skin, a thick black beard, and a red marking that resembled a scar, traveling from his eye to across his chest. He wore a single leather strap with a fur-lined shoulder pad, and a battle skirt and leather boots. He was wielding a large axe with an icy energy coursing through the blade and pommel. He also had a pair of short blades on his back. Oddly he also possessed a head on the back of his belt. It had two yellow eyes, two horns on its bald head and a grey beard.

With him was a young boy with red hair and a scarred face. He had light freckling and his eyes were an icy blue. He was dressed in leathers and hides of fur. Additionally, he had a sash around his waist that was red in color with golden patterns around it. He came up to the man's hip and looked around ten years old. He was wielding a bow and a sack of arrows on his back.

The man said, "Fire on my mark, boy!"

The boy said, "Ready father!"

The man yelled, "Fire!"

The boy yelled, "Ljösta!"

The boy fired an arrow that was charged with a mystic power. It hit the ogre square in the face, stunning it. The man ran forward, jumping on the ogre's back, throwing his axe into its face, then using the handle as an anchor, which allowed him to bring the ogre to the ground. The then cut into its mouth, splitting its head in half.

The boy said, "How'd I do?"

The man said, "You did adequately, boy. Come. Let us continue exploring."

Goku contacted Genos and said, "I see some other people. They're up on the cliffside to my right. I'm gonna see if I can get their help."

Genos said, "Saitama is our priority. I'm gonna keep searching from him. You can seek their aid if you wish, but be careful."

Goku flew down and landed behind them. He said, "Hey there!"

The man and the boy turned to see him.

The man said, "Who are you?"

Goku said, "My name is Goku. I watched you two fight that monster! I actually could use your help!"

The head started talking suddenly in a Scottish accent and said, "I've never seen your type. Are you not of these realms?"

Goku was freaked out by the talking head. He said, "Why is that head talking?!"

He shook his head, realizing he's seen far stranger things and said, "Never mind. What are your names?"

The boy said, "My name's..."

The man said, "Wait. What do you need our help with?"

Goku explained, "The head was right. I'm from a different...dimension. A different realm, I guess you could call it. My world has been enslaved by a monster called the Imperator. Right now we're engaged in a battle with him and his soldiers. We came to hell to search for someone who could help. A man named Saitama."

The man said, "It is not of our world. It is of no concern to us."

Goku said, "You don't understand sir. If we don't get all the help we can and lose this fight, there won't be anything stopping him from taking over every realm beyond ours. Please."

The head said, "Brother. If what he says is true, then he'll require our aid."

The boy said, "We have to help him, father."

The man said, "How can we be sure you tell us the truth?"

Goku said, "You can't. But I know I'm telling the truth. If the Imperator gets his way and wins, who knows what he'll do when he comes here? He can control your body and mind. He could make your son attack you or worse, make you attack and kill him."

At this line the man's face took on a more softened expression. The boy said, "Father. We have to help. Please."

After a while the man said, "Fine. We will aid you."

The boy said, "My name is Atreus."

The man said, "My name is Kratos."

The head said, "My name is Mimir."

Atreus said, "You said you were looking for someone else? Saitama was his name?"

Goku nodded and said, "Yeah. There's someone else looking for him right now. Genos."

Mimir said, "Backtracking a bit there. You said you came to Hel, yes?"

Goku said, "Yeah. This is Hell."

Atreus said, "No. If it were Hel, there'd be ice and snow. This is Musphelheim."

Goku said, "Wait, what? No this is Hell. What's Musphelheim?"

Mimir explained, "Musphelheim is the realm of fire. Hel is the realm of ice."

Goku said, "Guess I've had it wrong this whole time."

 **Elsewhere in Hell**

Genos was sprinting across the hell landscape, looking around. He heard thrashing sounds and monster noises. He came across a cliffside, and looked down to see various imps and armored, quadrupedal beasts dog-piling something. Out of nowhere, something burst out of them, sending them flying in all directions. Genos looked up and saw a bald man in a yellow jumpsuit with a white cape and red gloves and boots. Genos instantly recognized him and said, "Saitama!"

Saitama looked down and said, "Genos?"

Saitama landed next to Genos from the air. He said, "Genos. What are you doing here?

Genos said, "I could ask the same thing."

Saitama said, "Last thing I remember was some guy in a hood dropping a portal on me. Next thing I know, all these monsters are attacking me."

Genos said, "Sensei, I've come to get your help. That hooded guy has taken over a version of our world. He calls himself the Imperator. Right now, the resistance that I'm a part of is engaging him and his soldiers in combat. I came to get your help in bringing him down and saving our worlds."

Saitama said, "Ok. How do we get out of here?"

Genos said, "Hold on, I have someone to take us back."

Genos contacted Goku and said, "Goku. I've found Saitama. What's the status on those you saw?"

Goku said, "I've got their help. Let's meet back up where we started."

Genos said, "Ok."

 **Later**

Genos and Saitama met up with Goku, Kratos, Mimir, and Atreus. Goku said, "Kratos. Atreus. This is Genos and i guess that's Saitama."

Genos said, "Greetings. We are grateful for you providing aid to us in our time of need. When this is over, we will return you to your home with haste."

Kratos said, "You would do well to follow through on our deal."

Atreus said, "What's wrong with your body?"

Genos was about to answer, but noted the more primitive attire, and changed his answer.

Genos said, "This metal is an enhancement of my body. It gives me great strength and speed, but requires specific parts to maintain. Goku, take us back to our world."

Goku nodded and said, "Kratos. Grab my shoulder and your son."

Atreus jumped on Kratos' back and Kratos placed his hand on Goku's shoulder. Saitama put his hand on Genos' shoulder and Genos put his hand on Goku's other shoulder. Goku put two fingers over his head and concentrated.

Nothing happened.

Kratos said, "What is happening?"

Goku said, "I don't know. We should've vanished and reappeared on our world. It's not working."

Mimir said, "Perhaps your teleportation powers are locked down to this realm. Our best bet would be the realm travel room."

Saitama said, "Is that head talking?"

Goku said, "Oh yeah. That's Mimir. So where's this realm travel room?"

Atreus said, "We can take you there. What realm is your world located in?"

Genos said, "It's not so much located in a realm as it is located between realms. Once I see this travel room I can figure out how to get us home."

 **Golden doorway**

The group stood at a golden doorway which they opened into a massive hall. They walked inside and to their right was a pile of rocks with a faint blue glow and to their left was two short bearded men around smelting and blacksmithing material. One had large eyes and brown skin and the other had blue skin.

Atreus said, "This is Brok and Sindri. Brok is the blue guy. They help build armor and improve our weapons."

Sindri spoke in a soft and kindly voice, saying, "Hello, little one. Who're your new friends?"

Kratos said, "They seem to require our aid in defeating a threat to our home. We are merely accompanying them to fight this threat."

Brok spoke in a more gruff voice and said, "Eh, well if these fellers need weapons, they know who to talk to!"

The passed through and came across a bridge of light. They walked through finally making it into a circular chamber. There were different doorways around them with different colored crystals in front of each one. There was a central console surrounded by what looked like the outer bark of a pale tree. This bark grew just above it as well. They followed Kratos around to the other side. In the middle of it was a statue of the entire structure, surrounded by several gates on the edges of the circular map. Atreus explained, "We can turn this dial on the board, and it turns the whole room to one of those doors."

Genos said, "Maybe we can have it turn in between every door, and as soon as Goku finds our friends, he teleports us through."

Saitama said, "Worth a shot."

 **Abraxas**

A fight erupted between the corrupted students and the Honorbound.

Toph was fighting Todoroki and Jiro, Yang and Amethyst were fighting Bakugo, Raiden and Garnet were fighting Yaoyorozu and Ashido, and Ruby and Pearl were fighting Kaminari and Tokoyami.

Toph shifted the earth to keep the two at bay. Todoroki shifted ice beneath his foot, giving him increased mobility by sliding on the ice. He kept throwing out waves of ice that Toph evaded by shifting the earth underneath her. She kept throwing out stalagmites of the streets that kept the two at a distance. But Todoroki had a plan. After freezing the air around them with ice, he then blasted the ground with a wave of fire. This rapidly heated the air, causing an explosion that blasted apart Toph's rock formations as well as herself. She was knocked to the floor and was restrained by Todoroki's ice. Jiro plugged her headphone jacks into Toph's head, and began broadcasting high frequency sounds directly to her brain. She yelled in pain as blood began leaking from her ears. X jumped in, cutting the headphone jacks and kicking her away. Todoroki threw out a blast of ice, which X jumped over to strike down on him. Toph used this opening to shift the earth underneath her enough to break the ice. She threw out a boulder that Todoroki barely blocked with an ice wall around him. He then threw out a fire ball forcing the two to dodge.

Bakugo blasted forward using the explosions from his palms. Yang did the same with her gauntlets and the two clashed. Bakugo ducked one punch and hit her with an explosion in her abdomen. He then ducked under another punch and used an explosion to propel a backhand that hit her in the face. He then grabbed her by the arm and threw her over head. Amethyst wrapped him in her whip but he blasted backwards, kicking her and ending up standing on top of her. He then said, "Your refusal to submit to the Imperator will be your downfall." Amethyst shifted and morphed her body, slipping out of Bakugo's grasp. Yang jumped in, throwing her fist out, but Bakugo vanished in a haze reappearing behind her. He put both his hands together and unleashed a massive explosion, blasting her back. She absorbed the energy from this blast and rocketed back to hit him again. Suddenly, Midoriya appeared, catching her fist and absorbing the full power of her strike. He then casually threw her to the side, then kicked Amethyst in the stomach, launching her far away.

Raiden was clashing his sword with Yaoyorozu's dual-wield. He had little difficulty deflecting her strikes, but didn't get a chance to strike back. Garnet was swinging punches at Ashido who was dodging every strike. She grabbed Garnet's knee and began creating acid on it, melting part of her knee. Garnet dropped to the ground on her injured knee, and got kicked in the face by Ashido, throwing her to the floor. Ashido reached down to grab Garnet's face, but she suddenly vanished. In her place were Ruby and Sapphire.

* * *

 **For the sake of clarity, whenever Garnet is unfused I'm gonna refer to Ruby with the scythe as Ruby R. and the Ruby gem as just Ruby. Ok, back to the story.**

* * *

Ruby and Sapphire jumped out of the way as Ruby yelled, "Get out of here Sapphire!" Sapphire said, "No, she'll kill you!"

Ruby said, "Doesn't matter! Leave here!"

Sapphire was hesitant, but after a moment, she ran.

Ashido suddenly grabbed Ruby by the throat and said, "You were right to tell her to leave. It won't help."

Raiden saw Ruby in trouble, but got stabbed by one of Yaoyorozu's strikes. He used this advantage to break her grasp on this sword and kick her back. Sapphire suddenly leapt on top of her, grabbing her by the head. She from her hands came a buildup of ice which slowly coated Yaoyorozu's face. She grabbed Sapphire with her free hand and threw her into the ground. This provided Raiden the perfect opportunity to jump in and impale her from the back. Yaoyorozu simply said, "It's amusing. Here you spend so much time focusing on us, that you haven't even checked the Siphon."

Raiden looked back and saw the Imperator still held in place as the Darkness was continuously pulled from him. Little did he know, this was Yaoyorozu's distraction. She teleported away from Raiden's sword, appeared behind him and kicked him in the back, knocking him to the ground.

Just as Ruby was about to get her throat melted by Ashido's acid, Sapphire froze her leg into the ground by grabbing it. Ruby wrenched herself from Ashido's grip, and used this opportunity to refuse with Sapphire, forming Garnet again.

Ruby R. and Pearl were attacking Kaminari and Tokoyami. Kaminari kept blasting Pearl with lightning. She kept evading and dodging his strikes, throwing spears at him, which cut at his side. She activated her gem and it created a hologram of herself. This hologram ran forward, grabbing one of Pearl's thrown spears. The two attacked from all angles, but Kaminari unleashed an explosive blast of electricity that knocked them both back.

Ruby R. attacked Tokoyami. He summoned his own, more monstrous, version of Dark Shadow that rapidly tried to strike her. She jumped away, using the force of the sniper shots to increase her speed. She transformed into a pile of rose petals, appearing and reappearing near Tokoyami. He delivered a swift roundhouse kick that knocked her back, and sent Dark Shadow after her, keeping her at a distance. She kept blocking Dark Shadow's claw strikes with her scythe.

There was someone approaching the siphon. Hagakure was walking up to the Siphon, completely undetected by any of them. She was about to grab the siphon, but was knocked away by the ground moving underneath her and throwing her into the air. Toph said, "Did anyone else see the girl going after the Siphon?"

Amethyst was evading Midoriya's kicks and said, "No. I didn't."

Toph said, "We might have an invisible one on our hands. I'll keep an eye on where she is."

Hagakure said, "The blind girl can see me. I can't get to the Siphon."

Midoriya continued his assault on Amethyst and said, "Anima. Summon the beasts!"

Koda nodded and began unleashing an unholy wail that shook the earth.

After that, the ground began rumbling. Toph said, "Guys. Something's coming up through the ground!"

At once, the ground surrounding the city burst open, and hundreds of beasts emerged. There were three types of these monsters.

The first type was an upright, bipedal saurian monster. It had grey skin and a red glow under its scales and skin. Its face was narrow with mandibles collapsing over a sharp toothed mouth and two glowing eyes. The upper body was incredibly muscular, and had large spikes on its back. The legs were shorter than its upper body, but still possessed great strength. Overall they were 68 feet tall. These were called goliaths.

The second type was a quadrupedal, lovecraftian, beast that walked on all fours. It's face was a collection of tentacles and toothy mandibles with four glowing eyes. The back had a line of tall spines as well as two long electric tentacles. It had dark blue skin and a light blue glow under its scales. While standing upright, plus its spines, it was about 86 feet tall. These were called krakens.

The final type was a floating monster with a snakelike appearance, almost like a sea creature that floated in the air. Its body had a feminine hourglass figure with its legs and tail fusing into a trio of tentacles as its tail. It had four arms. Its two underarms were claw hands and its two top arms had scythe-like blade hands. Its face possessed no eyes and a beak with three jaws (one upper jaw and a lower jaw that split into two). It had four spikes coming from its back and as it floated it trailed a stream of energy behind its tail. It was about 19.5 feet long. These were called wraiths.

X said, "Toph!"

Toph shifted the earth and created stalagmites that broke the ice. She then said, "Yeah! Yeah! I'm on it!"

Toph slammed the ground with her hand, shifting the earth and creating a wall around the city, blocking out the monsters. This did little to stop them as they began scaling the wall, clawing against it and leaping over it. Toph was preparing to shift the earth again, but was knocked back by a blast of ice from Todoroki. She was kept on the defensive as he continued his assault, unable to bend the earth while the monsters made headway.

One goliath leapt towards Raiden and Yaoyorozu, forcing him to jump back as it slammed the ground between them. He jumped in, slicing at its leg causing it to drop to its knee, then stabbed it in the head. This did little to it as it grabbed Raiden and threw him into the ground. The red glow under its skin grew brighter until a torrent of flame erupted from the goliath's mouth. Raiden jumped away from the fire breath keeping his distance as it continued charging forward. This allowed a wraith to jump in. It warped at unnatural bursts of speed, transforming into streams of light as it jumped at incredible speeds, quickly closing the distance between it and Raiden. Before he could react, it delivered an upward slice, knocking him back and leaving a scar on his chest. A kraken grabbed him by his arms with its tentacles, pinning him to the ground with its hand. It sent electrical charges through it tentacles and into his body, short circuiting his systems.

Garnet saw Raiden in trouble, jumping to him and punching the kraken in the face, freeing its grip. As it fell to the ground, Raiden slowly stood up, kneeling to the ground.

Garnet said, "Raiden get up and pull it together! We need everyone fighting these things!"

Raiden said, "That thing. It disabled my pain inhibitors. The pain. It's glorious. It's why I fight, Garnet. Why am I denying it. I was born to kill. I'm gonna slaughter every one of these bastards. It's time for Jack..."

He stood up, a red aura glowing through his body. He then finished, his voice more throaty and gravely, "...to let 'er rip!"

His face plate activated, and he drew his sword. Garnet said, "Everyone stay away from Raiden! His pain inhibitors are off! Pearl! Amethyst! Form Alexandrite!"

Pearl stood up and jumped back from Kaminari's lightning strike while Amethyst jumped away from Midoriya's kick. Garnet jumped towards the two of them and all three merged into Alexandrite.

Alexandrite was a massive fusion with bright magenta skin and six arms. Her eyes were covered by a dark-indigo visor. Instead of a third eye, like Garnet has, she had an alexandrite gemstone, representing the location of Pearl's gemstone, with three dark-indigo oval-shaped lenses surrounding it. Alexandrite's primary face had a structure similar to Pearl's and plump lips like Amethyst and Garnet. This face functioned as a mask, covering a second monstrous mouth that had sharp teeth and a long tongue. Both mouths were capable of speech. Alexandrite's attire was a combination of the Crystal Gems' clothing: A dark teal bodysuit with a four-pointed dark teal star cutout on each knee resembling Amethyst's, the flats and large, shoulder plates (dark indigo on the bottom and white on the top) resembling Garnet's, and the dark pink belt resembling Pearl's. The gloves on each pair of arms were the skin tone of her three constituent Gems (Lilac for Amethyst, dark magenta for Garnet, and aqua for Pearl). Her third set of arms (that resembled Garnet's) were on her waist. She appeared to have a diamond-like cutout on her chest. She was just barely taller than the goliaths. Her arms began flailing forward as she ran through them, bashing, smashing and thrashing the monsters around her in a flurry of fists. Raiden suddenly flashed past her, cutting through wraiths that warped to attack Alexandrite from behind. She said, "Raiden!"

Raiden said, "Keep the chatter to a minimum. We're not stopping until we've slaughtered every last one of these bastards!"

Toph and X kept evading Todoroki's ice and fire. A wraith was floating behind Toph, but because it didn't touch to ground or make any noise, she couldn't detect it. It reached out its clawed hands and grabbed her, warping away.

Toph was fully restrained by the wraith's strength, unable to move her arms or legs, but she struggled to break free. She then yelled, "Let me go!" X said, "Toph!" This distraction allowed Todoroki to hit her with a blast of fire, scorching her cloak and mask. When she recovered she said, "Guys! Toph needs backup! One of those things got her!"

Yang was taking hits from Bakugo, her body wearing down from every hit, unable to hit Bakugo with a punch as he kept his explosive assault going. She said, "Kinda busy, right now! Actually if anybody wants to help me out, I'd be happy!"

Bullets started whizzing by the two. John approached from the side, having returned to the fight with BT.

John said, "Kept you waiting, huh?"

Bakugo leapt away to avoid the gunfire. He said, "The other members have returned."

BT charged a Goliath, tackling it the floor. His shoulder mounted missile launchers blasted it point blank in the face, killing it. He drew his gun and began firing at the monsters, but his bullets bounced off their hardened skin. BT said, "These creatures seem to be resistant to small arm fire and my primary weapon. I recommend high powered ranged attacks and melee."

John said, "Got it. BT! Initiate pilot link!"

BT said, "Copy that, Master Chief. Initiating pilot link."

The front part of BT's body opened up, revealing a seat in his interior. John jumped inside, as BT closed up. The walls of his interior lit up, showcasing the outside for John to see as he took direct control of BT. BT said, "Pilot control initiated. We are now one."

BT's body was now a direct extension of John and he had full control of him. John rushed in using his hand-to-hand skills to battle the monsters. Yang said, "Thanks for the assist, you two! I'm going after Toph!"

Alexandrite said, "BT, Raiden, and I will keep these monsters occupied!"

Without warning, Midoriya flashed in, kicking Alexandrite in the face. This was strong enough to launch her back several hundred feet and create a shockwave. Midoriya said, "Did you forget about me?" He landed, dodged Raiden's sword strike and kicked him in the stomach.

Yang was running after Toph, but Dark Shadow came up behind her grabbing her as well as Ruby and slamming them both into the ground.

 **Travel room**

Kratos had activated the room, and the central part began rotating, opening a rift directly in front of the group that passed over each room as they rotated. They all grabbed each other and Goku. He put two fingers to his head and focused as the room continued shifting. As it passed by each door, soon it was between two and Goku's eyes widened. He activated his instant transmission, and all of them disappeared.

The group was flying across space, surrounding a beam of energy as the cosmos whizzed by them at rapid speed. Atreus yelled, "I've never been between the realms before!"

Kratos said, "Hold on, boy!"

Genos said, "Sensei! Are you alright?"

Saitama maintained a straight face and perfectly still body flying through space as he said, "Yeah."

Goku said, "I see the planet coming up! Everyone brace yourselves!"

 **Abraxas**

Most of the Honorbound were restrained by the monsters and Taken students. Only John (piloting BT) was fighting. He kept trying to fight them off, but an electric blast from a kraken stunned him, a wraith cut at his knee after warping past him and a group of goliaths pounced him, completely swarming him as they began attempting to break into his cockpit. John said, "Anyone out there that can give me a hand!"

Toph was still attempting to break free of the Wraith's grasp, Alexandrite and Raiden were incapacitated by Midoriya, Ruby and Yang were grabbed by Tokoyami, and X was cornered by Todoroki.

The situation seemed hopeless.

Suddenly, a beam of energy struck the ground with incredible force in the middle of the monsters, igniting the battlefield and drawing the attention of everyone. An axe covered in ice shot out of it, twirling as it began cutting through the monsters. It knocked back Midoriya, Todoroki and Tokoyami, forcing them to release their captives, decapitated the wraith holding Toph and blasted apart the monsters swarming John.

It returned to the beam as it subsided, revealing Kratos, Genos, Saitama, Atreus, and Goku within. Kratos grabbed the axe as it returned to him, Atreus prepared an arrow in his bow, Genos began glowing orange from his cybernetic parts, Saitama maintained his blank expression and neutral stance, and Goku was flying above them. His hair was spiked upwards and blonde and he was surrounded in a yellow fiery aura of energy.

Toph stood up and said, "Took you long enough!"

Yang said, "We got a chance, guys! Let's fight back against these..."

Yang was forced to jump back from Tokoyami's Dark Shadow. Ruby fired shots from her scythe at him.

The mars group charged into combat. Atreus shot a glowing arrow at the ground. It conjured a stampede of boars made of light magic that stunned the monsters. Kratos jumped on a goliath, plunging his axe down its mouth and cutting its jaw open. Goku fired a barrage of explosive energy blasts from his hands, decimating the monsters. Bakugo leapt up at him, using explosions from his hands to propel himself. He grabbed Goku twirling in the air, and blasting an explosion from his hand sending them both into the ground. Genos powered his body, flying through the monsters, leaving behind a trail of fire that scorched them. Saitama casually walked through the carnage. A goliath tried to strike him, but he casually punched it, creating a shockwave as it was sent hurtling back, crashing through hundreds of goliaths and wraiths, killing them with the impact.

Midoriya charged in grabbing Saitama and flying into the air with him.

Genos yelled, "Saitama!"

Kratos jumped in, clenching his left fist. The brace on his arm activated and created an unfolding, round, metal shield. He used it to block a coming punch towards Genos from a goliath. He yelled, "Focus, metal man!" Kratos used his free hand to grab the goliath's hand, then grabbed it with his other and threw it over head, slamming it into the ground. Genos fired a fiery blast from his hand into its head, killing it.

Toph rushed into the fight, shifting around the earth outside the city, disorienting the monsters except the wraiths. Some krakens flew to escape the tremors as well, using the energy from their tentacles to achieve levitation. Kratos' axe flew into the face of a kraken, freezing its face and causing it to fall to the ground. Kratos punched the side of its face, breaking its face. The axe fell to the ground as the kraken fell dead.

Tokoyami was fighting Ruby and Yang, keeping them at bay with Dark Shadow's swift and ranged attacks. Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him shout, "Bruma!"

An electric charged arrow hit him in the back. He turned to see Atreus holding his bow and arrow at him. He prepared another shot, but Tokoyami threw Dark Shadow out at him, forcing him to jump away and keep his distance. Ruby and Yang capitalized on this, jumping and striking at him. Ruby used her scythe shots to propel a kick into the back of his head, then Yang punched him, powered with a shot. He rolled away, jumping back until he stood face to face with Ruby, Yang, and Atreus.

Yang said, "Thanks for the assist, kid. What's your name?"

Atreus said, "Atreus. You?"

Yang said, "Yang. And that's my sister Ruby."

Tokoyami had Dark Shadow envelop his body, forming a living armor over him.

After this, Yang said, "Here's the plan. I'll get up close and personal. You and Ruby keep your distance. If he comes after Ruby, hit him with one of those lightning arrows. If he goes after you, Ruby shoots him."

Atreus said, "Got it."

Yang jumped in to attack Tokoyami.

Kratos grabbed the two short swords on his back. Chains extended from the bottoms and wrapped around his wrist as they ignited. He threw them out, impaling a kraken. He pulled himself by the chains into the flying beast, bashing its head with his shoulder. He then swung around it wrapping it in his chains, tangling its tentacles and disabling its flight. He dropped one blade and held his hand out. The axe flew threw the air and returned to his hand allowing him to cut the tentacles off of the kraken and eventually decapitate it.

 **Music - One Punch Man theme**

In the sky, Midoriya and Saitama were battling. Saitama was throwing out rapid strikes along with Midoriya, creating miniature shockwaves in the sky. Saitama said, "You're pretty strong."

Midoriya said, "I'll kill you!"

Midoriya charged in, screeching "SMASH!"

He swung a roundhouse into Saitama's face, launching him far back. This did little to phase him, but he smiled anyway. He rocketed back hitting Midoriya with a punch that he warped away from. He reappeared and they continued clashing, building up power as the sky began to shake around them.

Goku was battling with Bakugo. His swift, unrelenting attacks, kept Goku on the defensive. He kept moving Bakugo's hands just past his body, so the explosions went off behind him. He would then counter with strikes to the stomach or face. Bakugo yelled, "You're pissing me off!"

He put both his hands together and unleashed a massive explosion, burning Goku and rocketing him backwards. Goku quickly recovered and flew back in, throwing out a barrage of blasts. Bakugo rocketed into the air, jumping over Goku and rocketing back into him. Goku teleported away reappearing just behind Bakugo, striking him in the back.

Yang was clashing with Tokoyami, blocking his claw strikes and striking his exposed midsection. His armor allowed him to resist the arrows and bullets from Ruby and Atreus, but he still suffered damage from Yang's strikes.

Raiden yelled, "These things are too coordinated. We need to take down the leader."

Kratos said, "Who is their leader?"

Raiden's eye darted around the field, until he saw Koda, floating high above the fight, holding his hand out to send psychic commands to the monsters. Raiden pointed him out and said, "That one up there!"

Kratos pulled out his chain blades and threw them out towards Koda, but a red streak flew by and blocked them, throwing them back down to the ground. The red streak skidded to a stop on the ground in front of the two, revealing it was Jetstream Sam. Sam said, "Hola, Jack."

Raiden said, "Jetstream Sam. I was wondering when you were gonna show up. Your master's ass is on the line and it takes you this long to show? Bad form for someone as strong as you."

Sam said, "You seem different. Are you letting that savage bloodlust overtake you, Jack? Come on then. Show me how you fight when you're not holding back!"

Sam drew his sword, and Raiden drew his. Raiden turned to Kratos and said, "Whatever your name is. You keep fighting the monsters. Sam is mine."

Kratos recalled his axe and leapt into the fray. Raiden and Sam stared each other down. Sam said, "Ok. Let's dance!" Both of them activated their battle masks.

Alexandrite had recovered from Midoriya's attack, returning to battle the monsters. The second mouth opened and unleashed a huge blast of fire, incinerating monsters all around. An electric shot hit her in the back. She turned to see Kaminari, Ashido, and Yaoyorozu poised to strike. Alexandrite said, "Come on! I can take all of you!" She summoned Pearl's spear and Amethyst's whip, combining them into a bow. She fired an arrow which exploded into a cloud of smoke. The three scattered. Ashido threw out balls of acid. Alexandrite combined Pearl's spear and Garnet's gauntlets into a war hammer. She spun it in place, creating a shield from the acid. She then rotated the upper half of her body, then turned around slamming straight into Yaoyorozu. She was sent rocketing away, before being grabbed by Kratos' chain blades and pulled into the floor. Alexandrite charged forward, trampling Kaminari, then slammed the ground, throwing Ashido off balance. She then grabbed at Ashido and slammed her into Kaminari, pinning them both to the ground.

Yaoyorozu drew a pair of double swords lunging towards Kratos. He activated his shield blocking it, then jumped to the side, hitting her in the leg with his axe. He then hit her in the back, freezing her.

X was jumping away, evading Todoroki's fire and ice. Toph came in, throwing a wave of stalagmites at him, forcing him back.

X said, "Thanks. Keep him at bay, I'm gonna check the Siphon. He's still restrained, right?"

Toph said, "Yeah I've got him. This guy's not getting past me this time."

X ran to the Imperator, still restrained and darkness still pouring into the open siphon. X thought to herself, "Damn it. How much longer is this gonna..."

A rock formation flew past the air behind her. X said, "Toph! What was that?!"

Toph was sliding around throwing rocks at Todoroki who was blocking with small walls of ice. She said, "That invisible girl was about to stab you! You're welcome!"

X suddenly heard a metal clap. She turned to the Siphon and saw it closed up, coursing with purple smoke and light. The darkness stream had stopped. X picked it up and said, "It's finished. Toph, drop the restraints."

Toph said, "Is that a good idea?"

X clicked the Siphon onto her back and said, "Do it. The Darkness is gone. He's got nothing left."

Toph said, "Alright."

The rock surrounding him dropped and he fell to the floor, seemingly unconscious. X stood over him kneeling down over his face as the battle raged around them. She said, "It's over. Your power is gone, and soon everything you've worked for will be gone. How does it feel? To be so close only to lose..."

The Imperator's arm shot up, grabbing her by the neck. Using only his feet he rose up with X in hand. He took off his cape as the armor began shifting around his body. His helmet clicked over his face as the cape and hood dropped off his face. It had a skull like design. The Imperator said, "I don't know. You tell me."

X struggled to speak as the Imperator pulled her close. He said, "What's wrong? Did your hubris get the better of you? Did you think that the darkness was the only string to my bow? You should know that even I wouldn't be so stupid to not have a backup plan. It's called the Berserker armor. When activated, it seals off your nervous system. I can't feel pain. In fact, I don't feel anything."

Toph saw X in trouble and prepared to attack, but Todoroki sped up his assault. Jiro also jumped in, having recovered and blasting sound waves at her, keeping her on the evasive once more.

The Imperator kept X held close to him with a tight grip. He said, "It's funny. You're so desperate and excited at the prospect of beating me that you don't consider the possibility of a backup plan. It's hilarious how hasty you were."

The Imperator took a second to laugh. Then he said, "Ok. We're done here."

The Imperator began squeezing his hand tighter, further constricting X's neck. The Imperator said, "Your resistance...your crusade...ends here."

He suddenly heard two voices. One was a female yelling, "Release!" And the other was a male yelling, "Recipro Burst!"

He looked up and saw Tenya Iida backflipping as he fell down towards him, his leg engine bursting with fire. He ended up kicking the Imperator straight through the chin. He dropped X and Iida caught her in his hands as the Imperator rocketed into a building. Iida slid on his knees across the ground from the momentum with X in his hands. At once, Asui, Uraraka, Aoyama, Kirishima, Shoji, Ojiro, Sero, Sato and Mineta jumped into battle.

X looked up to see Iida. She said, "Who're you?"

Iida said, "Tenya Iida. We're here to help."

The Imperator recovered from the wall and said, "Damn it. Without the Darkness there's nothing holding them to my will. Even then, how'd they get here so fast? Unless..."


	12. Chapter 12

**Mementos (Before the battle started)**

The remaining half of Class 1-A were sitting in one of the tunnels of Mementos alongside Mistral and a group of her drones. Mineta said, "Remind me again why we're here?"

Iida said, "The Imperator has stationed us to search for 'Phantom Thieves'. He said to be ready, for they possess incredible power in this world."

Shoji was manipulating his multiple arms to grow ears and eyes. Shoji said, "Nothing yet. Still searching."

Uraraka said, "I'm really worried about Deku and the others. We haven't seen them since the Imperator called them. You don't think he did anything to them do you?"

Asui said, "I doubt it. He seemed pretty desperate about keeping us useful. We'd be no use to him dead or injured. Still, it is concerning."

Sero said, "Hey, Kirishima! What happened to you after you got stabbed?"

Kirishima said, "It was weird. I don't remember much before that, but I swear he spit on me."

Ojiro said, "Maybe that's his healing power?"

Shoji said, "I hear someone coming!"

Iida said, "How many are there?"

Shoji said, "Just one. A small one."

Mistral said, "No. The Imperator said there'd be six of them."

Shoji said, "There!"

A figure walked out of the distorted shadows. It was an anthropomorphic cat figure. The top half of the head was black with big eyes that had blue irises. The bottom half was white. The rest of its body was black with white paws and a black tail with a white tip. It also wore a utility belt and a yellow bandana around the neck. It said, "I might've taken a wrong turn."

Kirishima said, "Did you guys hear that? That cat just talked!"

Asui said, "We all heard it, Kirishima."

Iida said, "Are you a Phantom Thief, Ms...?"

The cat said, "I am a Phantom Thief. And I'm not a girl. My name is Morgana."

Morgana drew a scimitar that was the same size as him. He said, "Come, Zorro!"

A blast of blue fire burst from Morgana forming a persona. This one was a black clad swordsmen wearing victorian era gentlemen's clothing. He swung his sword in a Z pattern firing a green gust of wind, throwing the students back.

Uraraka yelled, "What was that? It's like Tokoyami's Dark Shadow."

Iida said, "It must be able to control wind on his command. We need to flank him and get behind that spirit he's summoned!"

Sero shot out his tape while Asui shot out her tongue. Morgana rushed in as Zorro dissipated, evading them. He leapt over, wielding a sling shot. He fired two metal pellets into their back, landing in the middle of the group. He summoned Zorro who created a whirlwind, knocking them all off balance. He was unable to see Iida's coming kick, but jumped away just in time. He thought to himself, "I can't keep this up forever. I need an escape."

Before he could react, Mistral's drones piled up on him, grabbing and restringing him. Mistral said, "Well. That was easy. If this thing truly is a Phantom Thief, then the rest will come for their _camarade capturé_."

Shoji said, "I hear them. 6 more coming!"

Morgana thought to himself, "6?"

From the shadows stepped the Phantom Thieves. They saw Morgana held down by the drones. Haru said, "Mona-chan!"

Iida said, "If they are Phantom Thieves, we have to assume they have the ability to summon their own spirits."

Asui said, "We just need to tie them down and bring them to Abraxas."

Mistral said, "All my drones are holding down the cat."

Mineta looked at Ann's skintight suit and grew an incredibly perverted smile at her body. Kirishima smacked him in the back of the head and said, "Would you focus, Mineta?!"

Ren said, "They aren't shadows. The Imperator must've sent them down here."

He remembered meeting with Ratbag earlier.

 **Earlier**

Ratbag was handing a sheet of paper to the Phantom Thieves. He said, "These are the names of the new people he's brought. I'm willing to bet he's sent them down here for real. No doubt they'll be blocking your path to their shadows."

Makoto said, "Thank you, Ratbag. This will be a huge help."

Ratbag said, "When you bring them back up there, give the Imperator a kick in the face for me, will ya? Hahaha."

 **Now**

Ren said, "Ratbag warned us they'd be here. We have to punch through them to get to their shadows. Just restrain them and knock them out."

 **Music - A Stranger I Remain - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance soundtrack**

He smiled and activated Arsene, unleashing a dark blast of energy. This scattered the group, but hit Kirishima's hardened skin. Even though his physical body was unaffected he fell to the floor as the energy formed bonds almost like it was ensnaring him. Iida and Ojiro rushed Joker, but were stopped by Makoto and Ann. Makoto tackled Ojiro while Ann summoned Carmen shooting a torrent of flame that forced Iida on the defensive. Ojiro attacked Makoto with a swirl of tail strikes that she blocked with her arms. She held one arm out, grabbing his tail and wrapping it around her arm. She then pulled him close to kick him in the stomach but he stopped the kick with his hand, throwing her over head with his hand and tail. She summoned Johana, landing and revving it. She drove forward, but was suddenly pulled off the bike by Asui's tongue, who was sticking to the roof of the tunnel. She threw Makoto the ground and yelled, "Mineta, now!"

Mineta grabbed the balls from his head, throwing them at Makoto and causing her to stick to the ground. Makoto said, "What are these?"

Sero said, "One down. 5 to go."

He shot his tape at Yusuke, who cut it to pieces with his katana. He then summoned Goemon, who shot out a blast of ice, entrapping Sero. He shouted out, "Damn it! Not again!"

Aoyama jumped in preparing to blast the ice apart with his laser, but was stopped by Haru, who summoned Milady, who deflected the laser with her fan. She then unleashed a beam of psychokinetic energy, dazing him. Ryuji jumped in and knocked him to the ground with his mace. Meanwhile, Sato swallowed a handful of sugar cubes, increasing his strength as he charged to attack Haru and her persona.

Ryuji then summoned Captain Kidd, who fired electricity at Asui and Uraraka. Uraraka ducked under while Asui jumped overhead evading it. She shot her tongue at Ryuji, grabbing and throwing him to Uraraka, who touched his chest, floating him into the air. She then dropped him to the ground, followed by Asui jumping on his chest. Yusuke summoned Goemon firing a wall of ice, forcing Asui back. Asui said, "These guys are really strong."

Mistral rushed in, swinging her staff in a tornado of blows. Ren was able to block with is knife, but she kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back. He summoned Arsene, blasting a wave of dark energy at her. She jumped out of the way, but the energy hit the drones holding Morgana, destroying them and revealing him to the thieves. Haru stopped her fight and said, "Mona-chan?!"

Morgana bust out of the drone rubble, then rushed to Makoto, pulling her off the adhesive balls that held her to the floor. Makoto said, "Mona, what are you doing here?"

Morgana said, "Fight now, talk later Queen!"

Makoto nodded as they jumped into the fight.

Mistral continued her attack on Ren, continuously slicing at him as he jumped away, staying back and keeping his distance. Ryuji summoned Captain Kidd, firing a lightning blast. It surged through her body, disabling it as she fell to the ground. She still functioned, but her body was compromised.

Yusuke said, "We can end this fight now. Surrender, please. We don't intend to kill you."

Kirishima recovered from Ren's attack and charged at Yusuke. He swung his hardened arms at Yusuke, who blocked with his sword. Kirishima said, "We don't have a choice. We do anything against him, and he breaks our minds!"

Ren said, "Guys. Get out of here. Find their shadows. You can free them from servitude. If you guys can't do anything against him, then what would be better than bringing down their leader? I can take you all on!"

Ryuji said, "Damn it. What are you doing?!"

Ren said, "Go. They're not gonna let us go. And I'm the best equipped to take them on."

He turned to the students and said, "Let my friends pass, and you can take me on. I am Joker. Leader of the Phantom Thieves!"

Shoji said, "He said letting them pass could free us from the Imperator's grasp.

Uraraka nodded and said, "Ok. So we let them pass, and take on the leader."

Iida said, "Ok, Joker. We'll agree to these terms!"

Ryuji said, "Are you sure about this, bud?"

Ren said, "Go. Fix their shadows ASAP. I'll be fine."

Morgana said, "That's our leader."

Ren yelled, "Go!"

Ryuji nodded as he and the rest of the Thieves ran behind him past the students, running deeper into Mementos.

Sato said, "Doesn't seem really fair. 10 of us against you."

Ren cracked his knuckles and his neck while saying, "Oh please. I was only worried about using up so much power on singular targets and possibly killing someone I focused on. Now that I'm outnumbered, I don't have to hold back my true power. Come, Satanael!"

The fire in his body birthed a new entity named Satanael. Unlike Arsene, this demon was adorned with regal armor, with two horns that sank over its shoulders like a collar, batwings rotating over its head like a halo, and red eyes. With one wave of Satanael's hand, the ground shattered underneath the group, scattering them and throwing them in the air. It then waved its hand a second time, firing off explosive blasts of energy at each student. Shoji blocked the blasts with the webbing of his arms, Asui and Ojiro leapt out of the way, Kirishima and Sato tanked the blasts, Uraraka touched her fingers together to float into the air, Sero used his tape to shoot himself to the ceiling while wrapping up Mineta and Aoyama to pull them away. Iida rocketed away, dashing towards Ren rapidly. Satanael reached behind his back, pulling a gun out and aiming it at Iida. In one shot, Iida was blasted back into the wall. Sero said, "You know, you can still go back to holding back, Joker!"

Joker said, "Sorry. If the Darkness knows I'm holding back, it could hurt you way more than me."

Suddenly, their eyes turned black as they grabbed their heads in pain. They fell into the crater in the floor, writhing on the ground as the darkness in their eyes subsided.

 **Music end**

Ren stood over them and said, "Did it work? Are you free?"

As they recovered, Mineta said, "Hey. I think it did work!"

Asui said, "He's right. The Darkness isn't forcing my actions anymore."

Ojiro said, "You've freed us from our enslavement."

Iida finished, "How can we possibly repay you, Joker?"

Ren said, "Well, you can help out the Honorbound. Right now they're engaged in a death battle with the Imperator. They probably could use some backup. Whatever you used to get her, use it to get back. I'll finish with Mistral over there."

Iida nodded and said, "Thank you, Phantom thief. Come on, everyone!"

Iida ran out alongside the rest of his classmates while Ren approached the downed Mistral.

She looked up at him laughing and said, "Well? Kill me!"

Ren said, "I don't do that. We don't do that. We change people and clear their hearts of evil for the better. But we will never resort to murder. We're not like you and the Imperator."

Mistral said, "You're right. You're far too weak to be anything like us."

Ren said, "Lotta talk coming from someone on their knees."

Mistral said, "You might as well kill me. I already died before. This isn't even my true body. At best I'm on life support."

With her last bit of strength, she leapt at Ren, but was stopped by Satanael firing a bullet through her stomach. She smiled at Ren and said, " _Merci,_ Joker."

She fell the ground, dead, Joker looking on somberly.

 **Abraxas (Shortly after the other students'** **arrival)**

The Imperator had just recovered from being kicked into the wall by Iida. He stood up seeing him holding X and gently setting her down. The Imperator laughed as he stood up. He looked down at his arm to see it bent out of shape. His arm suddenly whirled and snapped back into shape. He squeezed a fist a few times to see his arm back together.

X said, "You can still heal without the Darkness?"

The Imperator said, "Yes. One of the things this armor also grants me is a lack of physical limitations. When people fight, the pain of their body and burning muscles holds them back all to often. But if I don't feel pain..."

He rushed forward rapidly, striking both X and Iida in the stomach before they could react.

The Imperator finished, "...what's holding me back?"

Toph was still held back by Todoroki and Jiro's combined assault. Sero and Ojiro jumped in. Sero tied up and threw Todoroki back while Ojiro knocked Jiro away with his tail. Toph asked, "Who're you guys?"

Sero said, "Heroes. We're here to help. You get into the fight and we'll deal with these guys."

Toph said, "Sweet! Thanks, whoever you are!"

Toph jumped into the fight, shifting the rock underneath, throwing more of the monsters off balance. This allowed Kratos to cut through even more of them while Genos incinerated the monsters with the fire from his hands. Uraraka rushed in as well, touching multiple monsters and causing them to float. Toph saw this and said, "Hey, floating girl!"

Uraraka turned to Toph, who created a pile of stalagmites in the ground under the general area where the monsters floated. Uraraka immediately knew what to do, releasing the monsters. They fell and were impaled on the stalagmites. Toph said, "Nice! Keep that up!"

Sero said, "What the hell did he do to you guys?"

Todoroki said, "He liberated us from the weakness of our former bodies."

Jiro said, "Now we are perfect."

Jiro blasted a sonic wave at them, separating them. Todoroki threw fire out at Ojiro while shooting a wall of ice at Sero.

Mineta was throwing his balls out, slowing and stopping some of the advancing monsters. Goku landed in front of them, charging a blue sphere of energy in his hands. He shouted, "Kame-"

The energy grew brighter as he continued, "Hame-"

He thrust them out with a final, "HA!" as a beam of energy exploded forth, disintegrating the monsters in a single blast.

Sato consumed more sugar, charging into the fight alongside Kirishima. He knocked a Goliath to the floor and Kirishima smashed its face with his hardened fist.

A blue beam shot into the air, drawing several monsters toward it. They rushed it, finding Aoyama firing his laser into the air. Standing right next to him was Genos, who fired a barrage of missiles from his back, blowing the monsters to pieces. Genos said, "Thank you for your lure."

Aoyama said, "Nothing can resist my shine, metal man!"

Asui jumped onto the roof of a building, shooting her tongue to grab Shoji, pulling him up to the roof as well. From above, he was able to observe the fight, keeping eyes and ears out for oncoming threats.

Sam and Raiden were continuing to clash with their blades. Raiden kept the chain of attacks going while Sam blocked with his sword using one hand. Fortunately, Sam was being pushed back as Raiden kept striking over and over. Sam suddenly stepped into a small hole in the ground created by Toph. She sealed the ground around his foot, giving Raiden an opening which he exploited. In one swift move, he stabbed Sam through the stomach. Raiden pulled the sword out as Sam coughed up blood. He smiled at Raiden and said, "Not bad, Jacky boy. Quite the dance..."

Sam fell to the floor, dead.

Midoriya and Saitama still continued their explosive battle in orbit, their rapid strikes sending shockwaves through the sky. Saitama managed to hit Midoriya in the stomach, sending him rocketing into the ground. His impact shook the earth, leaving a crater in the ground. He simply stood up from the crater as Saitama landed back into the battle.

Suddenly, the Taken stopped dead in their tracks. When Koda stopped, the monsters stood still in their tracks. They stood perfectly still for several minutes as everyone took notice. Suddenly, all of them vanished. The Imperator said, "Odd."

Without Koda's commands, the monsters remained completely catatonic. Before the Imperator could continue his thoughts, he was smashed directly into the floor by Alexandrite.

 **Hours later...**

The Imperator woke up in a daze, taking in a blinding bright light as he tried to orient himself. He heard voices echoing around him and shadows in front of him. He tried to attack, but was stopped by metal bars. He realized he was in a cell, built into a wall, blocked by the metal bar door. As his vision steadied and the ringing in his ear stopped, he saw himself standing before the Honorbound and half of his former soldiers.

Toph said, "Hey guys. His heart rate is up. He's awake."

Yang tapped on the bars and said, "Morning, big guy. Sleep well?"

The Imperator said, "So you've finally managed to capture me. Yet, I'm not dead. Either your morality holds you back from finishing me, you're worried about public repercussions, or you know about the device in my heart. Either way, I'm not surprised."

Kratos said, "This is the man who would see us conquered?"

X said, "It is. But we can't kill him. There's something underneath his palace, and if we kill him now, it'll unleash an apocalypse on this world. I won't let that happen."

The Imperator said, "You'll try your best to not let that happen. You can't ever be sure about anything. I'm sure Kratos tries his best to keep his son safe, but one way or another he'll be killed. It's the way this world works."

Kratos said, "Overconfident boastings from you. That suit of armor you wear will only aid you for so long. Underneath you are a man. Nothing more."

The Imperator said, "You know nothing about what I am."

Iida said, "Where did you send our friends? What did you do to them?!"

The Imperator explained, "It's called Taking. In exchange for their willpowers I give them incredible strength. It was clearly enough to almost outmatch and beat you were it not for the arrival of these people. As for where they went, my best guess is that since you took the Darkness from me, they renounced me as their leader and left to find a new one."

Ochaco asked, "How do we fix it?"

The Imperator laughed and said, "You are really overestimating what I'm willing to tell you."

Saitama said, "Come on Genos. We can dig through the ground and check from there."

Pearl said, "Hold on. We have to think about this. We have no idea what it is that's down there."

Asui said, "She's got a good point. For all we know, it could be a giant monster or a plague, or a curse. I don't think we should go, because the risk of releasing it to the surface is too high."

The Imperator said, "That's the genius of it all, isn't it? You can't kill me to end this war, because that'd release my doomsday weapon, but you can't check what it is because you don't want to risk what it is."

Genos said, "Perhaps I can check from above ground with my x-ray eyes."

The Imperator said, "Nope. The entire chamber is lined with lead. You can't see into it."

Toph said, "I don't think I felt anything rumbling underground during that fight, but with all the chaos going on, I wasn't exactly paying any attention."

Raiden said, "It can't be a monster. One of the Taken had the ability to control them purely with his voice. The Imperator would've used it to crush us if it was. So it must be some sort of plague or curse."

Ojiro said, "It's probably not a plague. If it was, why would he need an entire chamber for it? He could keep it in a vial in his palace if he wanted."

Ruby said, "So that just leaves a curse."

The Imperator said, "I love it. You're breaking it down based on all the evidence. I'm impressed."

X walked up to the bars of the cell and said, "What is it that you're hiding?"

The Imperator said, "It's best if I don't ruin the surprise. How about I just tell you how to get in there and you see for yourself?"

Kirishima yelled, "And risk releasing that curse? Like hell, we would!"

The Imperator said, "Idiot. That thing down there is a failsafe. A last resort for if I were to die. Why would I kick start an apocalypse early when I'm still here and I could still fix this broken world? I have nothing to gain by tricking you into opening it early. Follow my instructions exactly, and nobody gets hurt. It's something I need you to see. So you can understand why your war is so pointless."

Toph was placing her hand on the ground, feeling his heartbeat to detect if he was lying. She said, "He's telling the truth."

X said, "Alright. I want a few people with me when we go. John and Genos. Everyone else stays here to watch him. So what do we have to do?"

The Imperator smiled and began to explain.


	13. Chapter 13

**Underground**

X, John, and Genos were making their way through various caverns carved out by Toph, per the Imperator's instructions. Their only sources of illumination were Genos' glowing body and the flashlight on John's helmet.

John said, "What do you think we'll find down there?"

X said, "I don't know. And it's scaring me not knowing what it could be."

Genos said, "The Imperator did have a point. He would gain nothing by destroying his empire while he was still alive. He's far too intelligent for that."

X said, "That's what I mean. It's weird that he's showing us this. He has to be super confident in whatever it is."

They came across a gigantic steel door. Next to it was a number pad. X placed a semi-spherical device on the pad, it beeped several times, then the door began to open as she retrieved it.

The trio walked inside, stepping through into the darkness. As they continued to step through, X felt a squish underneath her boot. She looked down to find her foot going through a human corpse. She gasped and stepped back, realizing where they were.

X said, "What the hell is this?!"

Genos said, "This must be the mortuary."

John said, "His doomsday weapon is in the same room as his mortuary?"

Genos said, "Strange. After this his instructions stop. Whatever he wanted us to see is in here somewhere."

The three spread out to search the mortuary, looking for anything specific that stood out. John soon said, "Uh, X? I found something!"

X and Genos ran to rejoin John and saw what they were looking for.

It was a massive obelisk, looking like two spikes twisting together like the tail of the devil. It also gave off a red glow. Inscribed in it were alien symbols and markings. Genos said, "What is it?"

John said, "No clue. X?"

X was speechless. She was in shock, unable to speak or move at the sight. John repeated himself, "X? X?!"

After a beat, X said, "We have to go. Now! Let's go!"

The three quickly ran out of the mortuary, the massive steel door closing behind them as they exited.

 **Honorbound Base**

The Imperator was sitting in the cell, reciting something under his breath. Raiden said, "What are you mumbling about?"

The Imperator said, "The steps. You're gonna need to remember them for later, trust me. You're gonna need to follow the steps. Step 1: Crawl inside. Step 2: The screws go tight all around. Step 3: Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in your eye. Remember them, Jack. Remember the steps."

Before Raiden could think about the strangeness of this, the Phantom Thieves arrived on the teleporter. Morgana was with them, but in the real world, his appearance was that of an ordinary black cat with white paws, blue eyes and a yellow scarf.

Raiden said, "Welcome back. Glad you kids showed up. The Imperator was spouting weird nonsense."

Ryuji shouted, "Wait he's here?!"

Ryuji turned to the cell to see the Imperator, who waved at him.

Ruby said, "Did you bring back a cat?"

Ren said, "This is Morgana. An old member of the Phantom Thieves. In the world where palaces reside, he's a valuable ally and fighter. In the real world, we're the only ones who can hear and understand him."

Morgana meowed and the Phantom Thieves heard him say, "There's only 6 of you. What happened to Futaba and Akechi?"

Yusuke said, "Dead. Both murdered in cold blood by the monster in that cell."

Morgana said, "That's horrible...I'm so sorry, guys."

The Imperator said, "If it helps, they died quick. One shot to the head for each."

Ryuji growled, "Shut up, you bastard."

The Imperator said, "So emotional. Your emotions are gonna get you in a bad situation one day, Sakamoto."

A voice echoed through the walls, saying, "You son of bitch!"

X, Genos, and John had returned. X slammed the bars of his cell door with her fist, quivering with rage.

Genos said, "What's going on, X?"

X said, "You have a Marker down there!"

The Imperator said, "Congratulations. Now you know. My special weapon was a Marker."

Uraraka asked, "What's a Marker?"

X said, "Something that's worse than any curse or plague. It's both of them combined."

The Imperator said, "Should I tell them what it does, or do you want to?"

X said, "I'll do it."

The Imperator raised his hands in submission and stepped back.

X began to explain, "That thing we saw was called a Marker."

Genos projected a holographic image of it from his eyes.

X continued, "It's an ancient relic from who-knows-where. And it's potentially one of the most dangerous weapons in this world. How it works is through several phases. Stage 1 involves it sending out signals that mess with the brains of those around it. Symptoms include hallucinations and dementia, to the point where you lose your mind and kill yourself or anyone near you. After enough people have died, it triggers stage 2. This involves the dead bodies turning into horrific monstrosities known as necromorphs. They exist for one person. More killing. They slaughter people and infect the new dead bodies, creating more necromorphs. Once that's done, stage 3 begins. The Marker causes the necromorphs fuse with the planet's surface, transforming it into a necromorph planet, called a Brethren Moon. Then it goes off to find another planet to overtake. So what he said is true. That Marker has the potential to destroy this planet."

The Imperator slowly clapped and said, "Fantastic. You explained it better than I ever could...actually you didn't but good job anyway."

Genos said, "He also keeps it in his mortuary, meaning he

Mineta said, "Big deal! Let's go in there and blow it to smithereens!"

X said, "You can't do that. Even if you destroy it, a single shard will carry its power, but more sporadic and unstable. We can't destroy it, meaning that we can't get rid of the one thing keeping this guy alive. We're stuck."

Ren said, "Maybe not. We still have his palace to destroy."

Goku said, "But you said you can't."

Makoto said, "That was before he lost the Darkness. Now there might be an opening or a way in that the Darkness sealed off before."

The Imperator said, "I'm standing right here!"

X said, "You guys go and figure that out now. We'll keep an eye on him."

Toph began sensing vibrations above them. She said, "They're here!"

The group paused and said, "How'd they find us?"

Sero said, "Can't you keep them back?"

Toph said, "I do that and this whole thing caves in on us."

Kratos turned to the Imperator and said, "What have you done?"

The Imperator said, "Nothing."

Garnet said, "We checked him for any tracking devices. There's something else we missed."

The Imperator said, "You checked for any technology, but this armor is made from a special metal. It's one of a kind."

The floor above them blasted open. The Arbiter stormed in alongside other Sangheili. The Honorbound prepared their weapons and powers while the Phantom Thieves ducked for cover. Toph created a barrier of earth for them to hide behind. She also created a hole in the ground that the Phantom Thieves quickly jumped through. As he jumped down into the base, the Arbiter said, "Hold your fire! Hold your weapons!" When he landed he held his hands up and said, "I wish not to fight, only to speak with you."

Kirishima said, "Yeah right. You come blasting in with weapons and you don't want a fight?"

The Arbiter replied, "We didn't know for certain if you would strike first when I entered. They're simply insurance that I'm able to talk without getting shot at."

The Imperator said, "Good work. Now let me out, Thel."

The Arbiter said, "Not until we have the Siphon. Where is it, X?"

X said, "I wouldn't ever tell you that."

The Arbiter said, "You don't understand. He needs it. The Darkness was the only thing keeping his mind in order."

X said, "What are you talking abo...the Marker."

The Arbiter responded, "Yes. The Marker. It's corrupted his mind and the only thing keeping him from descending into madness is the Darkness."

X said, "And why would I believe that?"

Toph immediately said, "He's not lying about it. What should we do about it, X?"

As she said this, she continued to shift her back foot, which carved out the tunnel that the Phantom Thieves escaped through.

X said, "Even if that was true, why would I give the Darkness back to him?"

The Arbiter said, "Because it's the only thing preventing him from killing himself and triggering the apocalypse!"

Suddenly, the door on the Imperator's cell flew open, bent inward from him punching it. He walked out and said, "I've heard enough of this deliberation. There's nothing wrong with me that requires the Darkness."

Immediately the other Honorbound members tackled and brought him down. Asui wrapped up one arm with his tongue, Toph collapsed the earth around his legs, Goku grabbed the other arm, and Kratos froze his back with the axe. The Arbiter and his soldiers did nothing while this happened.

The Arbiter said, "Your mind may be sound now, but soon it will break down once more. Where is the siphon, X? This is is the final time I will ask."

X said, "As you can see, we're perfectly capable of keeping him here. He's not going anywhere and neither is the Siphon."

The Arbiter said, "Very well. You leave me no choice."

In a quick motion, the Arbiter threw up a flash-bang grenade. It detonated, blinding the Honorbound in a flashing light and deafening Toph with the explosion sound. He fired two more tranquilizer darts at Asui and Goku, powered up an energy sword and cut the Imperator out of his earthly restraints. Toph tried to throw stalagmites toward them in spirt of her ringing ears, but the other soldiers began firing on them. Toph was hit in the stomach, Asui and Iida were hit in the chest, X got hit in the mask (blasting it off), Genos was hit in the arm, Saitama and Kirishima were unaffected, while the others managed to get out of range. Saitama jumped up to strike them with a punch, but found they were already gone. The Arbiter was already gone as well.

Saitama said, "They're gone!"

X yelled out with her hand over her face, "Toph, can you pick them up? Are they invisible?"

Toph was grabbing her stomach in pain and couldn't respond. Plus her ears were ringing from the flashbang. X looked around and noticed the others who were injured as she grabbed her mask. She said, "Anyone who wasn't hit, get the injured to the infirmary!"

 **Later...**

Asui and Iida had their chests bandaged, Genos was repairing his arm and Toph had a bandage over her stomach. BT said, "I've done a count of all the members. The Phantom Thieves are missing."

Toph said, "Yeah. That was me. I got them out of here in a tunnel that I earth bent out."

Garnet said, "Wait. The Phantom thieves are there, that means they can steal his heart and fix his mind."

X said, "In that case, the best thing we can do is wait. The Arbiter's most likely going to keep him sedated until he gets the Darkness from us. Until the Phantom Thieves return, our job is to keep the Siphon away from the Arbiter."


	14. Chapter 14

**Mementos**

The Phantom Thieves, now joined by Morgana, were making their way to the Imperator's palace. When they came across it, it was glitching. Its form flashed and shifted between many distorted versions and forms. The general shape and design, however, remained the same. Yusuke said, "Without the darkness holding it together, his mind is falling apart at the seams."

Ryuji said, "How are we supposed to get in?"

Morgana said, "You checked all sides of the building right."

Ren said, "We couldn't call ourselves Phantom Thieves if we didn't."

Morgana said, "Well then. I guess that leaves it up to me."

Morgana took several steps back from the group, and yelled, "Morgana! Transform!"

He jumped into the air, and in a quick puff of smoke, he had transformed into a van. It was black with a yellow stripe, and two blue eyes as headlights, along with Morgana's tail on the end. He said, "Everyone in! It looks like the only way is to bash our way inside. Ordinarily I wouldn't go for something like this, but we're out of options."

The Phantom Thieves stepped inside and Ren took the wheel. He floored the gas pedal as Morgana flew forward, driving directly into the palace. The doors were smashed to pieces as Morgana blasted through them. They landed inside, Morgana transformed back into his original form, and the Phantom Thieves were left standing where he was. They found that no shadows or creatures were inside.

Yusuke said, "Intriguing. Nary a shadow in here."

Makoto said, "Perhaps he's been sedated, and as such, there's no activity in his mind, so no activity with the shadows.

Haru said, "This means that now is as good a time as any to secure an infiltration route!"

Ren said, "Let's move."

The Phantom Thieves made their way through the distorting building. All the time, voices echoed and whispered through the the halls. Some voices said, "Make us whole".

Other voices said, "Set me free".

Ann asked, "Is anyone else getting the chills? Something is seriously messed up with this guy's head."

Suddenly, the image of a little girl appeared in front of them. Her skin was pale while blood ran down her face, and out of her orifices. Her eyes and mouth glowed as her body wobbled and distorted, like she was being seen through a glitchy video monitor. She slowly turned towards the group, then flashed forward, appearing in their faces as the voice above screamed, "WHY CAN'T YOU LET ME GO?!"

She vanished as the group was frozen in shock.

Ryuji said, "What the hell is wrong with this guy?!"

Makoto said, "Who was that girl? Was that his daughter or sister or something?"

Ren said, "We'll figure that out when we change his heart."

As they continued, they came a pathway leading to underground. They went down to find an area that was a rocky cliffside. The sky in this area was a dark, decayed green, and a Marker was floating beyond the horizon. They saw the Imperator's shadow hunched over on his feet, scratching symbols into the dirt. He was saying to himself, "Step 1: Crawl inside. Step 2: The screws go tight all around. Step 3: Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in your eye."

He repeated these to himself as he scribbled the Marker symbols in the ground.

Morgana said, "I can sense the treasure in here. It's the Marker over there in the distance!"

Ryuji said, "No way! We haven't even sent a calling card yet!"

Ren said, "I suppose his awareness of the Metaverse allowed his treasure to manifest, combined with his already broken mental state. The symbols on the Marker are scribbled all over the ground. It's like he's devoted to it or something."

Yusuke said, "If it's here, that means we can take it now."

Morgana said, "The only thing standing between us and that treasure is his shadow. Let's do this!" The Thieves ran towards him, loaded and ready for combat. He heard their footsteps and said, "So...you've returned to steal my heart. Good. I was hoping to tear you to pieces here and now. When I awake in the real world, soldiers will be here to collect your mangled corpses. You'll be among the very first necromorphs, and the progenitors for the Convergence. Doesn't that sound wonderful? I hope it does, because I'm not giving you any other option."

 **Music - Awakening - Persona 5 soundtrack**

The Imperator's shadow started cackling as a reddish-black goop began forming over him. He backed towards the edge of the cliff, falling in a ball of goop as he vanished into the greenish fog below. A massive red flash illuminated the fog below. Ryuji said, "What's going on, you guys?"

A massive pincer leg rose from the depths, crashing into the cliffside with enough force to shake the ground. More legs grabbed onto the cliffside. What rose from above was a crustacean-like beast with armor covering its body. It had an elongated body along the lines of a centipede, with its mouth lost in a twisted mess of fangs and limbs that lines the stomach. It roared and spoke with the voice of the Imperator's shadow, "Show me the resolve that brings you here! Hold nothing back!"

 **Music End**

 **Music - Will Power - Persona 5 soundtrack**

The Phantom Thieves scattered, attempting to avoid getting taken out at once by the monstrous form of the Imperator's shadow. He slammed his tendrils into the floor, and the Thieves jumped out of the way to evade them. Ren yelled, "Keep him distracted so I can summon Satanael!"

Makoto and Haru paired up, and Makoto summoned Johana, and the two of them landed on one of the shadow's tendrils grasping onto the surface. They drove up his arm with Haru firing shots from her grenade launcher into his face. From the other angle, Yusuke and Ann used Goemon and Carmen, respectively, to shoot a torrent of ice and flames into his underside. Morgana and Ryuji blasted him with wind and lightning, and the combination with the ice and fire created a storm of the elements upon the shadow's face. He roared in frustration, unable to see straight. Ren took this opportunity and said, "Pillage him, Satanael!"

Satanael was activated, but now at full power, he was the same size as the shadow's monstrous form. It pulled out its gun, aiming it right at the shadow's blinded eyes, and fired. The bullet tore through its skull, breaking its body apart. The bulk broke down and turned to goop as the shadow's humanoid form dropped to the ground. Makoto and Haru managed to land back on the cliffside. The second it touched the floor, the shadow jumped forward and began engaging the Phantom Thieves hand to hand. He charged into Ann and Yusuke, striking Yusuke in the stomach and throwing Ann over his shoulder into the ground. Makoto and Haru tried to attack him alongside Ryuji and Morgana, all powering up their personas. In an instant, the shadow flashed past all four of them, striking Morgana in the chin, Ryuji in his leg, Makoto in her stomach, and Haru in her face. This sent all four of them flying back. Ren pulled out his gun to try firing at the shadow, aiming for his legs to cripple him. The shadow jumped back and forth, dodging the shots as he rapidly closed the distance between them.

He soon had his face on the barrel. He swiftly shot his fist upward, breaking Ren's gun arm and causing him to drop the gun. He grabbed it out of the air and pointed it at Ren before smiling. The shadow then said, "It's begun, Ren. I've made us whole."

 **Music End**

He turned the gun under his own chin and fired, killing himself. The shadow dissipated into dust as it fell back before finally vanishing.

 **Abraxas**

In the real world, the death of his shadow caused the Imperator's heart to cease beating.

Deep beneath the temple, the Marker began glowing brighter as the bodies around it began to twitch and growl. They began contorting and convulsing. And one by one blades began bursting from their hands, small hands burst from their stomach. They lurched upwards, having fully transformed into necromorphs. Other corpses went through worse transformations...

 **Honorbound Base**

BT sounded an alert, "Alert. I'm detecting a signal being broadcast from Abraxas. Unique to any frequency we've encountered before."

X said, "NO! That's the Marker frequency. It's been activated. Everyone, to Abraxas now. We need to get as many of the people out of harms way as possible and try to contain the necromorphs. BT, keep an eye on Tornado while we're gone."

BT said, "Copy that."

Goku said, "Everyone grab each other's shoulders!"

The group complied as Goku grabbed X, held two fingers to his head, and they all vanished.

 **Abraxas**

They appeared just outside the walls of Abraxas and X began giving out orders. She said, "Alright, this time there will be civilians in harms way. Getting them to safety is priority number one. Goku, you're going around in the bulk areas and teleporting as many people as you can. Iida, I want you and your classmates to focus on locating any stragglers. In all the chaos it's way too easy for people to get lost and trapped. Toph, you focus on containment. Keep the monsters blocked off from the people, and try your best to lead them out of the city. Saitama, I want you staying out here. You're powerful, but the power of your strikes could potentially hurt someone, so stay put for now until we need you. Everyone else is running containment with me. We'll need to surround the palace at four areas. We need to hold off these monsters for as long as possible. When everyone's safe, we escape and seal the city. We'll figure out what to do next from there."

At once, the Honorbound began running inside Abraxas, prepared to fight.

Goku began teleporting back and forth between the city walls, disappearing and reappearing with different, confused citizens in hand.

The Crystal Gems were at the southern part of the palace. Garnet summoned her gauntlets, Pearl summoned her spear, and Amethyst summoned her whip. Garnet said, "Get ready, team."

Yang and Raiden were at the western side. Raiden said, "We hold them here and now."

Ruby, John, and Genos were at the eastern side. Genos said, "Don't let a single one past you."

X, Kratos, and Atreus were at the northern side. Kratos said, "Keep your distance, boy."

The gates of hell opened wide, and the monstrous necromorphs began pouring out.

 **Space, Rings of Saturn**

The Taken students from class 1-A had arrived on a massive spacefaring capital ship. It was covered in twisting necrotic residue, dried and cracked, with eldritch symbols and designs around them. They entered a section of the ship that was completely shrouded in darkness. Black. They bowed to the darkness, and Izuku Midoriya said, "Master. Awake."

Three glowing orbs opened in the darkness, like eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Abraxas**

One by one, necromorph slashers began pouring out the entrances to Abraxas palace. The slashers possessed humanoid bodies, with blades of bone bursting from the palms of their hands. Small, vestigial arms were growing from their stomachs. Some of them lacked lower jaws, while others had tusks for a lower jaw. Some had human legs, while others had monstrous legs formed from necrotic flesh. Some had torn fragments of clothing while others were completely naked. They charged forward.

Toph used earth-bending to lock down the town, creating four chokepoints to the different entrances, sealing it down. She asked, "Hey X. Can these things climb?"

X said, "Yep. But the walls help a lot. Not get as far from here as possible, but still make sure you can sense how many people are in Abraxas. Once it's cleared, let us know immediately."

Toph said, "Alright. Good luck guys!"

She shifted the earth under the ground and began using it to move away rapidly.

At the southern entrance, the Crystal Gems were at the ready. The slashers were in the hundreds as they charged forward. Garnet launched her gauntlets as rockets, blasting at the entrance archway and collapsing it. This helped to slow the necromorph advance. Pearl fired energy bolts from her spear, but these did little to damage the necromorphs. Amethyst dashed forward, sliding and spinning with her whips in hand, slicing the legs off the necromorphs. They used their bladed arms to drag themselves forward. Pearl and Garnet joined in, smashing and slicing them respectively.

At the eastern entrance, Genos unleashed massive waves of fire, scorching the necromorphs by the hundreds. Genos said, "Ruby! get up on the roof of the building behind us, and keep an eye out for anything coming our way." Ruby nodded and dashed toward the building while John kept his gun trained at the doorway.

At the western entrance, Yang and Raiden were blasting their way through countless necromorphs, Raiden slashing them apart and Yang punching them back, never giving them an inch, and holding their position. Yang said, "How many of them are there?" Raiden said, "Enough to swallow the planet. But he had to have considered we'd be here to contain it." Yang said, "Then why is it this easy?" Raiden said, "I don't know. This might not be his full hand yet. Be ready for anything."

At the northern entrance, Kratos was thrashing through legions of necromorphs with his blade-whip chains, slicing and burning the necromorphs alongside X, who cut through their legs, crippling them. Atreus kept his distance, firing off arrows into their feet to slow and stop them. He fired one energy arrow, and the energy summoned the spirits of boars, stampeding through the necromorphs and slowing them down further. X said, "Iida. Goku. How's civilian rescue going?"

Goku said, "I've gotten as many people out as possible."

Iida said, "I'm scouting the outskirts for stragglers. I had the rest of my friends wait outside with the rest of the civilians to protect them."

X said, "Good. Once we've gotten confirmation from Toph, we're out of here, and she'll seal the entire city. We'll figure out what to do next from there."

Iida was racing alongside the outskirts of the city, keeping out for anyone still in the city. He spotted a family of 4 (one man, one woman and two little girls). Iida said, "I'm Ingenium. I'm here to save you."

A strange clicking and chirping echoed around him. Something dashed just out the corner of his eye. He said, "Everyone, hide. Something else is here."

More chirping sounded around him. The family ducked inside the nearby building. He saw a creature just out the corner of his eye. He turned to see it watching him from behind a building. He dashed over to find it, but by the time he arrived, it was gone. Suddenly, the same creature charged him from behind, while letting out an ear piercing howl. It bashed into his chest, breaking one of his ribs and throwing him back. He spat up blood as the creature retreated to cover, letting out derogatory chirps and squeaks as it ran. Iida contacted X and said, "X. I'm under attack. Some sort of necromorph variant. It's incredibly fast. I spotted it around one corner, and before I knew it, it was charging me from several meters behind. What is it?"

X said, "Crap. It's a stalker. And it's not just one fast one. It's three smart ones. They're using bait and switch tactics to catch you off guard. Keep your eyes open in all directions, or they'll overwhelm you. And don't try to run. They'll have a plan to cut you off or hunt you down. You have to stop them there."

Iida said, "Understood. I will make my stand here."

The three stalkers began taking up offensive positions as they surrounded Iida.

At the eastern entrance, Genos' fiery explosive blasts were getting weaker as his power was draining. Ruby shouted, "Genos! Pace yourself, or you're gonna overheat."

Genos said, "If I slow down, they'll get past us!"

A roar echoed from the eastern entrance. Genos tried to ignite a fiery blast again, but his power was too low. From the entrance emerged two necromorphs with gorilla shapes. They had armored fronts and bug-like faces, charging at Genos. He deactivated his cannons and prepared to fight hand to hand. Ruby landed beside him as the two beasts charged them both. Ruby leapt overhead, firing multiple shots into the back of one while Genos dodged the strike of another countering with a punch to its teeth, sending it flying backwards. One of Ruby's shots tagged it in the leg, knocking it over and crippling it. The one Genos hit landed with a thud, but merely leapt back up, angry.

At the western entrance, another roar echoed, bigger and louder than the others. A larger necromorph emerged from the entrance. It had multiple legs and arms, and was as tall as half the buildings in Abraxas. It also had a massive mouth with various mandibles as it peered down at Yang and Raiden. It charged at the two of them as they leapt out of the way. Yang fired a few shots into its body, but its hide was too thick. Raiden ran up its leg, slashing away at it, but another arm came and slapped him down to the ground. His slashes were ineffective and only left cuts in its armor. It used its leg and tried to step on him, but Raiden was able to roll and jump out of the way. It then used its hand to slam Yang and pin her to the wall of the adjacent building. Raiden slashed at its hand causing it to drop her. He grabbed her from the air, landing as the creature reeled back.

Iida was darting his eyes around the area, looking for the stalkers, and listening for their chirps to deduce their locations. They seemed to have caught on to his increased spatial awareness, staying in the shadows and out of his sight. One finally made the first move charging from behind. Iida smiled, hearing its howling, and shouted in response, "Recipro Extend!"

The engines in his legs kicked into overdrive, and the fiery exhaust rocketed his leg forward. Pivoting on his other leg, he spun around, and directing his rocketing leg into the stalker's armored head. It sent the creature flying to the side, where a second stalker hid. The speed at which the monster was flying was enough to shatter both their spines when they crashed into each other, mangling their bodies when they hit the ground. The last one saw this, and in a fit of rage, began its charge. Iida attempted to move, but the use of recipro extend crippled his leg engines for the time being, immobilizing him. The stalker continued its charge and prepared the killing blow.

Suddenly a powerful strike from an unseen figure threw it threw several walls, killing it. It was Goku. Iida said, "You have my thanks, Goku."

Goku said, "No problem. I've gotten everyone else out. Especially that family that was in that building."

Goku teleported Iida outside Abraxas. He contacted X and said, "X! Everyone in the city has been evacuated!"

X said, "Good! Toph, seal the city! BT, get us out of here!"

Toph yelled, "I'm on it!"

She stomped the ground, and the earth surrounding Abraxas rose and collapsed around it, sealing it in a massive mountain of rock.

BT said, "Initiating teleport, stand by."

A haze of electricity surrounded the Honorbound members, and they vanished.


	16. Chapter 16

**Honorbound Base**

The group was discussing their next move.

X explained, "Now that the Marker's been activated, it won't be long before it's effects start to take hold. Toph's trap slowed it down for now, but the people on the outside are gonna be affected soon. Us as well. If we can find someone to reactivate that stasis field, we can seal the Marker back."

Genos explained, "The Imperator is the only one who knew how to do that."

The Phantom Thieves arrived, Ren still holding his broken arm. The Honorbound rushed to their aid.

X said, "What happened in there?!"

Makoto explained, "His shadow shot himself with Ren's gun. Without a shadow his cognition died, and his heart followed. Now, he's brain dead."

Asui said, "If that's the case think we should give the Darkness back to him."

X said, "What?!"

Asui said, "It could help him regain consciousness and sanity. He could fix all this. I know it'd be a setback, but I'd rather fight him than these necromorphs."

Pearl said, "As much as I hate the idea of reviving him, it seems to be our only option. Especially if he's the only one who knows how to reactivate that stasis field."

X thought about it and said, "Ok, BT. Find the signal the sangheili use. Send out a message and give them the location of the Siphon. Wherever you hid it."

BT said, "Yes ma'am."

Sero and Toph had used his tape along with cylindrical rocks to create a makeshift cast. They used the rocks to push Ren's arm into position then taped them together to hold it. Ren said, "Thank you."

Toph asked, "How did that happen?"

Ren said, "His shadow was too fast. Before I could even get a bead on him, he knocked us out, broke my arm, and took my gun."

"Then you'll just have to try again."

Tatsumaki spoke up, "This time you'll have me."

The group was surprised to see her up and well.

She continued, "I'm still recovering from what that bastard did to me. I'm not gonna miss the chance to make him hurt."

Yusuke said, "But now that he'll have the Darkness back, his palace will be sealed from all directions."

Saitama sighed and said, "Guess I'll go too."

 **Undisclosed location**

The Arbiter had the Siphon in hand, holding it over the Imperator's body. He stabbed it into his stomach, the Darkness racing out of its container and merging with his body once more. He jumped to life screaming as it began to fuse with him. After that, he sat up, panting as he observed his hands moving. He looked up at the Arbiter and asked, "What happened, Thel?"

The Arbiter said, "You were dead. After I grabbed you, your heart suddenly stopped beating. I brought you here. Your stopped heart triggered the Marker, and in response the Honorbound removed all of Abraxas' citizens and sealed off the entire city."

The Imperator asked, "How did you get the Siphon back?"

"They more or less gave it to me."

Upon hearing this, the Imperator cackled, then he said, "This worked out better than I thought. They're realizing how much they need me. Where are we?"

The Arbiter said, "One of your private underground shelters. You can control the functions of Abraxas from here as well."

The Imperator said, "Thank you, Thel. Let's get back to business. I'll personally see to it that the marker gets resealed, then we can return the citizens to Abraxas."

The Arbiter bowed.

 **Abraxas**

The Imperator stretched his arms and legs, smiling as he activated the Darkness once more. The tendrils grew from his back and he began his move. Breaking through Toph's rock barrier in a single strike, he began walking through the necromorph hordes, the tendrils whipping and striking every one that came close to him. He descended into the depths of his palace and found the marker. Entering a code into a keypad next to it along with his handprint and eye scan, reactivated the stasis barrier. This caused all the necromorphs above to break apart into necrotic sludge. He contacted the Arbiter and said, "It's done. Have as many men as possible clean up the necrotic waste and bring it back here. Then we can bring people back in."

 **Metaverse**

The Phantom Thieves, Saitama and Tatsumaki were nearing the door to the Imperator's palace. Tatsumaki and Saitama looked down and saw the metaverse form for Morgana. Saitama said, "So that's why you brought that cat."

Tatsumaki said, "Is that what you look like here?"

Morgana said, "Yep! And since you've been here, you'll be able to hear me talk in the real world."

Saitama saw the doors and said, "Hold on a sec."

He clenched his fist, raised it, and struck the door. It flew off the handles, and flew backwards several feet into the palace. He said, "Let's get going." The Phantom Thieves were left dumbfounded. Morgana said, "Woah, how strong is this guy?"

Tatsumaki ignored the question and flew in as the Phantom Thieves followed behind.

Finally reaching the underground area where the treasure waited alongside the Imperator's standing shadow. It was a single floating rock platform with an endless abyss surrounding it. The treasure (which was the marker) floated in the distance. Ren said, "Remember. We can't kill him."

Tatsumaki smiled and said, "Good. That means I can draw this out as long as possible."

The shadow turned behind him and said, "Back for more? You Phantom Thieves sure know how to irritate me. Like flys wanting to be swatted."

Immediately, Tatsumaki activated her power, trying to lift the Imperator. He smiled as he was unaffected. Tatsumaki yelled, "Why isn't this working?!"

The shadow stated, "Did you forget the Darkness is unaffected by your power? Here I can where it like armor. You can't affect me, Tatsuma..."

Before he could finish, he was struck in the stomach by Saitama, who still held a blank facial expression. He was launched back several feet, sliding along the ground, bent backwards. When he skidded to a stop, he bent himself forwards again, noting the dent in his armor caused by Saitama's fist. He waved his hand, and multiple, purplish imps wearing human clothes were created. The Imperator said, "Darklings. Deal with these pests."

After saying this he dashed forward collapsing dark energy around his fist and punching Saitama through the stomach sending him flying. He flew to catch him and they clashed in the air, the Darkness strengthening his body to match up with Saitama's minimal effort.

On the ground, the rest fought his Darklings.

Tatsumaki said, "They're made from the Darkness. I can't affect them!"

Ren used his non-broken arm to activate Satanael. With a wave of his hand, the ground exploded around the creatures, throwing them into the air, as well as some rubble. Tatsumaki grabbed the pieces of rubble, crushing them into spikes and shooting them through several Darklings, causing them to vanish. Ann and Ryuji used Carmen and Captain Kidd, respectively, to blast the remaining ones with fire and lightning.

They vanished into dust, only to reappear back where they started on the ground. One of them began speaking in a heavy British accent. "Stoopid monkeez! So long as the Darkness is here you can't destroy us! Eeeeheeheehehee!"

Ryuji said, "You've gotta be shitting me."

Tatsumaki began using the previous spikes, breaking them apart so there's enough to hit all of the Darklings at once. She said, "Destroy the treasure now!"

Joker nodded and activated Satanael once more, who drew his gun, aiming it towards the floating Marker in the back, shooting it. The bullet caused it to explode, exposing a pulsing, yellow heart underneath. Everyone summoned their personas, blasting the heart with a combined powers of fire, ice, wind, lightning, psycho kinetic energy, nuclear power, and the bullet from Satanael's gun. The heart blasted apart, sending out a wave that cleared the dark mist surrounding them. The Darklings vanished as the Imperator and Saitama fell back onto the platform. The Imperator's shadow looked behind to see his treasure destroyed. He glared angrily at Ren and tried to rush him but was stopped by Tatsumaki.

"Oh no you don't", she said. "You have a lot to answer for you bastard!"

She lifted him in the air with her powers and began slowly crushing him, his armor bending and breaking, shards stabbing into his flesh and bones cracking. He screamed in pain as Tatsumaki continued, a small smile forming on her face.

After a full 10 seconds of this, Ren stepped in and said, "That's enough."

Tatsumaki dropped him to the ground. He looked up and said, "You destroyed it. The means by which I could fix this world and its people. If the necromorphs wouldn't do it, the madness that preceded that would! The Marker chose me! But it doesn't matter! I can still rule over them as their king. No, as their god!"

Ann said, "You're not a god. You're a delusional monster who thinks he's a god. You hurt people because you thought you were above them."

The shadow responded, "I am above them. With the Darkness at my side, I rival every last one of you! And once I find where they are, the Taken will be back as well! Destroying the Marker means nothing!"

Yusuke said, "What did you say?"

The shadow replied, "Destroying the Marker here has destroyed it in the real world, but you've done nothing that changes my heart. You were hoping my beliefs would change. That I'd realize the error of my ways and stop everything I've been building for years now?! You're wrong! If anything this only strengthens my convictions! This changes noth..."

He was cut off by another strike from Saitama, this time blasting his body apart. But the Darkness allowed him to quickly regenerate. He skidded across the ground, ending up on his hands and knees.

Morgana said, "I don't understand. Is his conviction so strong that his palace and shadow are indestructible in his cognition?"

Ren said, "It's the Darkness. It's the only thing holding all of this together. Not here, but in the real world. So we'll have to get rid of it in the real world."

The shadow screeched, "Go ahead! This means nothing. I'll tear you all apart! You can't win without..."

Tatsumaki began crushing him again. She said, "Without what?"

The shadow said, "The Angelus! The natural antithesis to the Darkness and the creator of the Siphon. But I sealed it away! You'll never find it and you'll never beat me."

Saitama said, "Wait. Was it that weird ball of light chained up in hell? It said that it needs a female host."

Haru said, "It's literally the opposite of the Darkness. It requires a female host and pure light. That has to be it."

Tatsumaki said, "Thank you! For once your big mouth is gonna be worth listening to." She threw him back, as they left the palace.

 **Honorbound Base**

X said, "So you managed to fix his heart and destroy the marker. That's one problem dealt with."

Ren said, "Yes. But the Darkness is still holding his palace together."

X continued, "And to destroy the Darkness we need to find the Angelus in hell. I'll be it's host. After we finish this, then we focus on finding the Taken. Saitama, can you show me where it is?"

Saitama nodded. X grabbed a respirator and put it in her mouth.

"Good. Goku, take us up there."

Saitama, Goku, and X grabbed shoulders and warped out.

Amethyst said, "So what now?"

A voice boomed, "Now you die!"

Toph yelled, "Get down!"

An explosion, charged by power from the Darkness went off, blasting the entire group apart, knocking them out, and decimating the base. It came from the side, as the Imperator walked through flanked by the sangheili and the Arbiter. He said, "Take them outside. This is no place to kill ."

The Arbiter said, "Yes sir."

 **Hell**

Saitama, X, and Goku were making their way through hell. Saitama led the way through. He said, "I spent like a year here. I think the Angelus is this way."

Goku said, "So what happens after you get the Angelus?"

X said, "I finish him off. Destroy the Darkness. Whatever it takes to finish this."

Goku said, "We'll be there fighting alongside you."

X said, "I don't think that would be a good idea."

Goku's eyes widened and he said, "What?"

X continued, "This is my fight. He's not gonna make the mistake of holding back anymore. When the Marker was a threat we'd have to face, he didn't have to try that hard. He knew, win or lose, he'd get the last laugh. Without that, he knows he absolutely has to win. That conviction would make any person dangerous. He'd use the full extent of the Darkness's power, and could kill you all easily. I can't let that happen."

Goku said, "Come on, though! At least let me fight alongside you! A guy has strong has him, I've been itching for a fight like that."

X said, "He hasn't. He'll do whatever underhanded tactic he needs to keep you and Saitama at bay since he knows you can best him physically. It could be potentially lethal for you."

Saitama said, "Here it is!"

Saitama showed them a ball of light kept in chains created by the Darkness. X heard a voice in her head. It was a soothing, feminine voice that said, "I feel you child. Come forth and accept my power. Destroy the Darkness and bring light back into your shadowed world."

X said, "Yes. Please give me the power to free us from the Darkness and the Imperator." She reached out, touching the ball of light. It rushed through the chains, absorbing into her body. The light began to glow through her skin as she assumed the from of the Angelus.

Her mask was replaced with a golden one that resembled Ren's phantom mask. Her suit was changed with a form fitting white body suit, and angelic wings. Her hair was revealed to be long and black that flowed around her shoulders. The glow of her body forced Saitama and Goku to shield their eyes. She floated to the ground and said, "I feel divine. I feel the power of every star in the universe flowing through my body. It's more than I could imagine. I am the Angelus. And I will destroy the Darkness."

Goku said, "Alright. Then let's bring you back to Earth to finish this."


	17. Chapter 17

**Earth**

A wide open field with the unconscious Honorbound in the Sangheili's sights. The Imperator smiled and said, "Is this not where they belong? At my feet. Now the chaos they create ends tod..."

A light began shining through the grey clouds above, breaking through and revealing X, powered by the Angelus, floating on the beams of light alongside Goku and Saitama. The power of the Angleus had healed X's missing arm, and healing her of all other wounds. The Sangheili began to open fire, but with a wave of her hand, they exploded into ash. She then waved her hand, and the Honorbound disappeared in a flash of blinding light.

The Darkness and Angelus began speaking through their respective hosts. The Darkness said, "Angelussss, your light will be extinguished. The Darkness is everlasting."

The Angelus said, "Your darkness is insignificant. The light of the Angelus will guide the way."

While they spoke, X and the Imperator talked. The Imperator said, "I don't think you understand the scope of what I'm trying to accomplish. Outside of your interference, people are at peace. They enjoyed my protection. They loved me! You want to take that away and destroy everything for free will?"

X said, "The world wasn't perfect before you came along, but people had the choice. They had the choice to be better. What does it matter if you force it onto them?"

The Imperator said, "They had the choice. But EVERY SINGLE TIME they chose wrong. When I slaughter you and your troublesome resistance, I'll be able to perfect this world. Then, I'll move on. I'll perfect every world in the multiverse. The Darkness sustaining my immortality, I can create perfection that lasts until the end of time."

X said, "Born from suffering?! Born from blood?!"

The Imperator said, "Born from necessary sacrifice. We'll start with yours."

X charged the Imperator. He created multiple tendrils that shot out to strike her. She grabbed her sword, infused with the light of the Angelus. She rushed forward in the air slashing through the tendrils to close in on him. Right when she was face to face with him, she teleported behind him with a short range "blink". She tried to bring the sword down on top of him. Without looking he held his hand back, blocking the strike with a shield conjured by the Darkness. X blinked back to get distance once more. She thought, "He's fast, and with the Darkness he's got eyes everywhere. It's going to be hard to catch him off guard."

Suddenly, the Imperator had vanished from where he stood. X said, "Where'd he go?"

She looked behind her to see him winding up a punch from above. She instinctively raised her sword to block it, but his strength allowed him to break it in a single strike, breaking her arm with it. She rocketed back several meters before skidding to a stop. The light of the Angelus healed her wounds and repaired her weapon quickly.

"Damn it. He actually got a hit in. I can't let that happen again."

More tendrils began flying at her. She flew back occasionally swiping at them to keep them at bay. Before she knew it, she found one grabbing her by the leg that came from beneath the ground. The Imperator had sent a tendril burrowing through the ground to emerge underneath X. She cut it off with one sword swipe, but in that instant, more tendrils began hitting her, knocking her back. She was soon grabbed and tangled in the tendrils, wrapping her wings and arms and hoisting her in the air as she dropped her sword. Holding her in the same spot, the Imperator walked forward, overconfident in his every step.

He said, "Idiot. The Angelus may very well be one of the greatest powers you can wield. But you must truly know how to wield it. I spent years bonding to the Darkness, learning its power. Understanding the scope of its strength. It's a symbiotic pairing. You bonded with the Angelus less than 10 minutes ago. What did you think would happen?"

Suddenly a massive punch blasted him apart. He flew back quickly regenerating. Saitama stood where he was, fist out from his punch. X was dropped to the ground. She was brought to her knees, weakened by the Darkness constricting her. She said, "Saitama? I told you not to help! How did you get here so fast?"

Saitama said, "I ran. The rest of the group is on their way. Some might get here before others."

The Imperator said, "That's it! You've been a thorn in my side since day one!"

As Saitama rushed to attack him, the Imperator sliced his hand through the air. It created a rift that Saitama ended up rushing through vanishing. The Imperator jumped through.

X shouted, "Saitama!"

Both of them were inside the palace at Abraxas. The Imperator began jumping and running around the palace indoors, evading Saitama's punches. Eventually he landed in front of the portal he used to travel to other dimensions. He said, "Open portal to dimension 2102-4160"

The portal opened as Saitama charged him. He anchored his feet into the floor, taking a full punch. His body exploded as his leg stayed attached to the ground. Saitama stopped just short of going through the portal. He regenerated grabbing Saitama with his newly formed arm, tripped him up with his newly formed leg, and threw him through the portal. Without missing a beat he slammed a massive red button shutting down the portal. He contacted the Arbiter to say, "Send a soldier to the teleporter. Lockdown access to dimension 2102-4160! Randomize the code. They're not gonna bring him back."

X had finally managed to regain her strength as the Imperator arrived. She said, "Where is he?"

The Imperator said, "Back where he belongs. And where he's gonna stay. Let's finish where we left off."

X flew forward and kneed him in the face, knocking him back. She continued a relentless attack on him, punching and striking him over and over. Eventually he caught both of her fists, spread them apart, and head butted her. He threw out more tendrils and she flew away. She grabbed her sword from the ground, where it had fallen before. She used the flat part to deflect the tendril strikes to defend herself. The continued rapid strikes against her sword caused her to slide back continuously.

When he tried to attack with all the tendrils all at once she turned the sword blade outward. The tendrils split apart, spreading apart and flowing over and around her. She flew through them closing in on the Imperator. Through the haze of darkness, she saw his fist fly forward, and hit her square in the face. She flew back and he capitalized on this brief moment of vulnerability. He grabbed her by the throat out of the air and slid her across the ground. He then threw her far away. She recovered immediately, and fired a beam of light from her hand. The tendrils surrounding his body began burning away.

He fell to his knees as the beam of light began burning into his armor. It began to turn red and grow hotter and hotter. He slowly began to stand up, pushing through the beam of light enduring the burning pain. He grabbed both her hands, spread them apart and head-butted her, cracking her mask. He punched at her, but she dodged it, grabbing his arm and locking it down. With her free hand she held the sword to his neck. One of his tendrils regenerated, grabbing her by the neck. He smiled, but she immediately cut the tendril. He jumped up and grabbed her, slamming her into the ground. She struggled to break free as the dark energy from the Imperator began to weaken her. A beam of blue energy flew from the right pushing the Imperator off of X, and blasting him back. When it subsided, the Imperator was buried in a crater. X looked up and saw Goku flying overhead, but his hair was spiked up and blue. His strength had increased exponentially.

X said, "I thought I told you to stay out of it."

Goku said, "You needed help. You can't fight him by yourself. Besides, I'm not missing out on this one!"

Goku landed beside her and helped her up. As she dusted herself, the Imperator's crater exploded with dark energy.

 **Music - It Has To Be This Way - Metal Gear Rising soundtrack**

He pulled himself out, his cloak and hood completely gone. A metallic skull helmet collapsed over the top half of his face. He had activated his Berserker armor once more. It sealed off his nervous system, making him immune to all pain, and allowing him to push his body past all physical limitations. This, plus the power of the Darkness allowed him to unlock his true full power. His mouth was visible through the armor, scarred and burnt. He smiled a sadistic smile, pulling himself out of the crater. He said, "That's it. No more games. It's time to die!"

Goku said, "Get ready! Here he comes!"

In the blink of an eye, he pushed off, running faster than before. He struck Goku in the stomach and kicked X in the face faster than they could react. Goku quickly recovered and charged back against him clashing fists with him rapidly. The Imperator delivered fast and power strikes with tiring in the least. Goku was able to keep up with his strikes, but his arms were beginning to ache holding back the Imperator's consistently fast and lethal strikes. X finally recovered from the blow to the head and rushed in. She tried to strike with her sword, but he blocked it by allowing it to cut into one arm, while he grabbed Goku's fist with another. He used his tendrils to stop their other limbs, then slammed them both in the ground. The Darkness healed his wounded arm. Both of them leapt up and began attacking him at once, X with sword and Goku with fists and kicks. The Imperator was able to keep them both at bay, seemingly able to move faster with little to no exertion.

He slid one of his hands past Goku's punch wrapping his arm around Goku's. He threw his tendrils towards X, grabbing her by the wings and slamming her into the ground, then throwing Goku over his shoulder. He began rapidly striking Goku into the ground. Goku managed to get a ki blast off, throwing him off and freeing X from his grasp. The two stood up, Goku bleeding from the strikes. The Imperator charged again, this time Goku and X flew into the air, firing light and ki blasts respectively while evading the oncoming flurry of tendril strikes from below. The blasts failed to hit the fast moving Imperator as more tendrils put the two on the defensive.

Goku yelled, "It doesn't matter where we fight him! He always has the advantage."

X flew around slicing the tendrils with her sword and said, "He has to have a weakness. Even the smallest tell or chink in the armor can be what we need!"

The Imperator smiled from the ground, when numerous stalagmites pierced his body, ceasing the tendril attacks. More formations began to collapse and grow over his body. X and Goku looked to the side to see Toph, Ruby, Yang, Raiden, Tatsumaki, Iida, Asui, Sero, and Genos. X and Goku flew down to them.

Raiden said, "Kept you waiting, huh?"

Yang said, "The others are on their way. Love the new look by the way."

Genos said, "Where is master Saitama?"

X said, "I don't know. I think the Imperator sent him back to your dimension, and locked the way back. He just said, 'he's not coming back'."

Genos said, "I see. We'll just have to make do without his power for now."

Iida said, "We have to focus on the Imperator. Were you two able to deduce a weakness?"

X said, "Nothing yet, but he's moving so fast we barely have time. He's activated an armor that makes him immune to pain."

Toph said, "Big deal! That means we can kick his butt over and over again until he feels something!"

X said, "You don't get it. When normal people do any strenuous activity, there's always a pain threshold to ensure they don't overwork their bodies or break something. Now he doesn't feel that, so he can move as fast and hit as hard as he wants. And now that the Darkness is healing him he can move faster and hit harder than he ever has!"

Tatsumaki said, "Well you have that fancy light power now. Use it!"

X said, "I could destroy the Darkness, but it takes way too much time. Time he won't give me."

Ruby said, "Then we'll give you that time. We can keep his body distracted, and you can destroy the Darkness."

X said, "That seems to be the only way. But be careful. Who knows what he's capable now that he's lost all restraint."

The ground began to rumble. X said, "Toph? What's he doing in there?"

Toph said, "I don't know! He's just sitting there."

Genos used his cybernetic eyes and saw through the rubble. The Imperator had pumped Darkness tendrils through the ground and was using them to break out of his restraints. The rumbling was from the tendrils digging through the surface. Immediately X began firing a ray of light at the Imperator, beginning to burn some of the darkness away. But it was too late. He fell through the ground, and burst up from underneath, freed. He broke his previous rocky prison down with a flurry of tendril strikes and threw the rubble at lightning speed. Genos and Yang jumped in front, delivering a rapid series of punches, breaking down the rocky barrage into dust. Both of them were the first to charge in, followed by Raiden, Toph and Tatsumaki.

The Imperator flew past Genos and Yang, grabbing Toph by the neck first and Tatsumaki with his tendrils second. Tatsumaki froze his armor in place and used her power to wrench open his hand, freeing Toph. The tendrils began to choke out Tatsumaki as more flew out to attack the others. Yang and Genos jumped back to attack him, engaging him in a melee exchange. He effortlessly blocked their attacks, but was thrown off balance by a kick to the back from Iida. He grabbed him with his tendrils, then delivered a powerful strike to Genos' face, then another to Yang's stomach.

Asui shot her tongue out to wrap up one arm while Sero wrapped up the other with his tape. The Imperator raised his foot, stepping on the tape with such speed it yanked Sero forward, throwing him towards Asui, then yanked Asui with his other arm, slamming them into each other. He then jumped back to avoid Raiden's sword strikes. He blocked them with the armor of his sword, but was starting to lose control as Raiden sped up the pace his strikes. Ruby attacked alongside him. Then Ruby swung her scythe, firing shots to accelerate her swinging speed. The reach of the scythe helped keep him at bay as he dodged the shots, although he managed to keep out of range of Raiden's sword strikes. Raiden then slid his sword along the ground throwing dust into the Imperator's eyes. That moment he was blinded Ruby grabbed him with the hook end of her scythe. He grabbed the handle, pulling her closer to kick her in the stomach while impaling Raiden with tendrils and throwing him back. Multiple rectangular prismatic rock formations began emerging from the ground, breaking some of his bones. While all this was happening, X was charging the power of the Angelus for one powerful blast.

The Imperator continued to endure Toph's barrage. The attacks came from all directions isolating him to a single area. Tatsumaki used her power to throw Sero and Asui in the air using their tape and tongues respectively to begin binding the Imperator. He shot tendrils out in all directions in a fury, but they were cut apart by bladed formations from the ground created by Toph, creating a circular wall around him Asui and Sero jumped on the outer edges, using their bindings to suspend over the coliseum-like formation.

Genos yelled, "Goku! Help me weaken that armor!"

Goku and Genos flied in and began rapidly striking the Imperator from both sides, but the armor held strong. That is, except for the helmet, which began to crack. Goku yelled, "X! Do it!"

X aimed the blast down towards the suspended Imperator, and said, "This is for everything you've taken from us!"

She fired her beam of light, incinerating the dark mist and the tendrils with the heat of a thousand stars. The others took great pains to avert their eyes from the blinding light. Asui recalled her tongue to keep it from getting seared while Sero's tape burned away. Tatsumaki released her power, and the beam forced the Imperator to the ground. The ground began to crack from the force of the blast, with beams of light shining through the cracks.

X's arms began to crackle and bleed. Her body was being pushed to the limits by the physical strain of using such an attack. Finally, the blast subsided, leaving only a scorched crater. X fell out of the sky, nearly unconscious. The light in her body had gone dim. Goku caught her and flew her to the ground setting her down softly.

Toph opened a hole in the wall she had made. Inside was the Imperator's charred body. Though the armor protected him from the blast, the Darkness was gone. The armor was black with soot and hot to the touch. X stood up and Yang said, "Woah, woah. Are you ok to stand up? That blast looked like it took everything."

X said, "There's something I have to check. When we were fighting, and he activated his armor, I spotted something for a split second. Tear off his mask."

Genos walked over to his body and grabbed the helmet. The extensive damage made breaking it off easy and the face of the Imperator was revealed. His face was on the younger side, around 18 years old. His skin was cream with a hue of pink, and he had black curly hair. X stepped back in shock, her body language signaling the others clearly. She knew who this was...


	18. Chapter 18

**Battleground**

X had seen the face of the Imperator and knew who it was. She explained to the group. She said, "His name is Steven Universe. He and I were friends once. In fact I was friends with him and the Crystal Gems."

Toph said, "Did you know it was him this whole time?"

X said, "Sort of. I suspected it for a while, and when I saw his face, there was no denying it."

Yang asked, "You knew this and decided NOT to say anything?"

X said, "Well what good would that have done? He's not anything like how I knew him. Whatever I knew about him would've been pointless."

Raiden said, "So what happens now?"

X said, "We bring him back, lock him up until his change occurs, and see what happens from there. While we're waiting, look for the taken students. The ones that disappeared into space."

Genos said, "Very well. But if the Crystal Gems know who this is, then you owe them an explanation as well."

 **The Rings of Saturn...**

The Taken Students were on board a strange alien dreadnought, called by the voice of their original masters.

The Taken possessed a unique ability to travel to another dimension known as the ascendant realm. There, the souls of their masters slept, with no body to return to the physical plane. Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki each brought back a soul of a different leader. These souls took the form of balls they held in their hands. Onboard the ship, Yaoyorozu was using her power to craft new bodies for their masters. There were three.

One was bulky and stocky, with brown armor and pale-beige skin showing underneath. The body was about 9 feet tall. The armor around the head made it look like a star with two protrusions on the top going out the side of the head two small ones on the bottom back and one in front. There was an expressionless toothy mouth underneath, with no lips. The hands had three fingers and the feet were more like boots. The body also had three eyes with the third one on top, though the one on the left was glowing in the presence of the souls.

The second body was thin, with no armor and pale skin. This body was about 8 feet tall. It had a bald head and a thin body. The hands each had three long spindly fingers and the feet had three clawed toes each. It also had the same kind of mouth as the first one and three eyes, all this time the right eye was glowing in the presence of the souls.

The third and final body was 15 feet tall. It had a body similar to the first one, but the helmet had protrusions on the left and right, almost appearing like horns. The armor was complimented by wings along with a robe around its waist. It also had the same mouth as the other two and three eyes. For this body the top eye was glowing in the presence of the souls.

Bakugo took the soul he held and put it in the stomach of the first body.

Todoroki took the soul he held and put it in the head of the second body.

Midoriya took the soul he held and put it in the chest of the final body.

 **Music - Pillar Men theme - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency OST**

The first to awaken was the final body. All of its eyes blasted open at once. Little by little its body began to move and twitch to life. It slowly and laboriously brought itself to its knees, more feeling coming into its legs and arms until finally it was standing. The Taken bowed before their one true master. This was Oryx, the Taken King. He turned to his sisters and raised his hands in the air. His voice was the kind that could both bring chills to the bravest men and shake the mightiest mountain. He called out the names of those that lay beside him and shouted, "Savathûn! Xivu Arath! Now is the time! Awaken my sisters!"

The bulky, armored body slowly stood up first. This was Xivu Arath, Goddess of War. As she stood, the pale, thin body stood next. This was Savathûn, the Witch-Queen.

 **Music end**

Xivu Arath said, "What's happened, brother? I remember feeling the cold embrace of the Ascendant realm. Why are we here?"

Savathûn and Oryx looked down at the Taken kneeling before them. Savathûn said, "Taken? I don't understand. I don't sense any Taken in this solar system and even then, they grew aimless after Oryx's passing yes?"

Xivu Arath turned to the Taken and said, "Where did you come from?"

Todoroki was the first to speak. "We came from Earth. There was another who learned of your power and took it for himself. We were the first to be Taken, after he lost it, we broke from his control and went to find you."

Xivu Arath said, "What shortsighted fool would try to use this power? How idiotic they must be."

Savathûn said, "Without a proper body to keep control of them, they gained free will and chose to bring us back. These bodies, though. Where did they come from?"

Yaoyorozu spoke and said, "I created them. On my world we each have a unique power. My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. Mine is Creation."

Each one of the students listed their powers.

Kaminari said, "Denki Kaminari. Electrification"

Ashido said, "Mina Ashido. Acid"

Koda said, "Koji Koda. Anivoice"

Jiro said, "Kyoka Jiro. Earphone Jack"

Todoroki said, "Shoto Todoroki. Half-Cold Half-Hot"

Hagakure spoke up and said, "Toru Hagakure. Invisibility"

Bakugo said, "Katsuki Bakugo. Explosions"

Finally Midoriya said, "Izuku Midoriya. One for All."

This drew the attention of all three of them. Oryx said, "Tell me more about your power, Izuku Midoriya."

Midoriya explained, "My power is one that's inherited from hero to hero. Generation to generation. I'm the 9th user. I can summon stockpiled strength thats grown with every person who has used it."

Oryx said, "So if you passed it on again, it would be stronger than before?"

"Yes. But I would lose that power."

Oryx said, "Pass it to me."

Midoriya reached his hand up to his head, but something was holding him back. His arm and head twitched like two wills were fighting each other. Slowly the hand reached closer to the hair on his head. He grabbed a strand and pulled it out. He then presented it to Oryx.

"Consume this master.", he said. "To obtain this power you have to consume my DNA. Take it and gain new strength."

Without hesitation Oryx grabbed the strand of hair and ate it. He then asked, "How long will the changes take to manifest?"

Midoriya replied, "Almost immediately. The trouble is learning how to call upon its power."

Oryx said, "Show me. Each one of you will take on Xivu Arath. I want to see what you're all capable of."

Xivu Arath said, "Thank you, brother. I'm interested in seeing just how strong they are."

The plates of armor shifted around forming a cavity in her shoulder. She reached towards it as a sword hilt came out of it. Pulling it she unsheathed a massive sword from her body. It was thick and double edged. She raised it, ready to test her new body in battle.

Yaoyorozu summoned a spear and was the first to strike. She jumped up and tried to impale Xivu Arath. She simply sidestepped it as it pierced the floor. She then snapped it in half with one swing of her sword causing Yaoyorozu to fall forward. Xivu Arath struck her once in the stomach sending her flying into a wall.

Oryx said, "Please take care not to break my ship or my soldiers, sister."

Xivu Arath said, "Sorry. This body is so strong. I'm still learning to adjust my strikes."

Jiro and Todoroki began blasting with sound waves and fire respectively. Xivu vanished, evading the blasts and striking both of them in a single kick.

Ashido slid forward on a slide of acid and threw globs of acid on Xivu Arath. Kaminari blasted her with electricity which was conducted through the acid. Xivu struggled against the electricity, and reached towards her shoulder. Another hilt appeared through the armor. When she pulled it, a whip was revealed. She threw it out, grabbing Kaminari and throwing him into Ashido, crashing them both into Koda. Hagakure jumped on Xivu's back, but she simply grabbed her and slammed her into the floor.

Bakugo and Midoriya jumped in. Bakugo propelled himself forward with an explosion while Midoriya activated One for All to boost his speed. Bakugo jumped all around Xivu Arath, blasting at her with explosions continuously while she swatted at him. Midoriya jumped around delivering rapid kicks to her face while staying at a distance. Xivu managed to block both their attacks and threw them both to the side. Oryx said, "That's enough for now."

Xivu shook her weapons and they broke down, retracting into her armor. She said, "They're much stronger than I thought. I almost put a little effort in."

Oryx said, "Really? That's impressive."

Xivu said, "Midoriya and Bakugo are the strongest. They were the ones that forced me to unveil some of my strength."

Oryx said, "That's all I needed to know."

With a single wave of his hand, Oryx drained the dark energy over Midoriya's body leaving him in his school clothes and human skin. He was unconscious from this as Oryx waved his hand again, forming a dark orb around him that teleported him away.

Savathûn said, "Was that the wisest thing to do, brother?"

Oryx explained, "His power was to slowly drain now that it is mine. The power of the Taken enhances existing power. This would've happened sooner or later. Better now than later in the middle of a battle."

Savathûn said, "He may warn them. They'll come for us."

Oryx said, "I know. And because I know that we have the advantage. There's only two things they'll do. Come for us and finish us or wait. When you're absolutely certain of your opponent's moves victory is assured. Yaoyorozu, if we bring you back souls, how many bodies can you make?"

Yaoyorozu said, "As many as you need, master."

Oryx said, "Then start. You knew how to make my bodies so you should know how to make the rest of my family. Start with Savathûn's children. Then mine. Then the soldiers. Everyone else will collect the souls in the Ascendant Realm and give them life. Except for you Xivu Arath. I have a special job for you. Whether or not they'll come for us or not, someone needs to be there to keep them occupied. That's why you will go to Earth and hold them at bay until our army is finished."

Xivu Arath said, "Of course, brother. A chance for new opponents and weapons. I'm prepared for the bloodshed!"

 **Honorbound Base**

Steven was unconscious in the holding cell. The Gems were staring at him through the glass, eyes widened at who the Imperator truly was. Garnet turned to X and said, "What happened, Connie? Start from the beginning."

Goku said, "So your real name is Connie?"

Connie said, "Yeah. Connie Maheswaren. It happened a while ago. Steven heard something calling for him. We used the warp pad on our own to go to some place. He wasn't being specific, but it was in the middle of a forest. That's when the necromorphs attacked. We fought them off, but one of the bigger ones smashed the warp pad. As for Steven, something happened to him. He started rambling about "making us whole". You didn't know where we were, so I had to take Steven and walk back, try and figure out where we were. He kept getting worse, losing touch with reality. The last time I saw him was when a new necromorph attacked. It was one that kept regenerating. I got separated from Steven in the struggle. That was the last time I saw him. I don't know how much time passed until I made it back to civilization, but I did. And that's when his army attacked. And you all know the rest."

Pearl said, "Whatever the Marker did to him, it caused all of this. What we've been fighting all this time, wasn't Steven."

Amethyst said, "Do you think he's back for real?"

Makoto said, "He has to be. We cured the distortion on his heart. And you destroyed the Darkness"

Raiden said, "We'll wait until he wakes up to find out."

BT spoke up, and said, "I detect Taken energy nearby."

Goku said, "I can feel it too. I think it's one of them!"

Iida and Uraraka said, "Wait! Take us to it."

Uraraka and Iida grabbed Goku's waist, and he used instant transmission to teleport them to the energy source.

 **Unknown desert**

When they arrived, they saw a massive burnt crater on the ground. Inside, they saw Izuku Midoriya, now no longer Taken. Uraraka yelled, "Deku!"

Iida yelled, "Midoriya!"

The two ran into the crater to greet him. He slowly stood up, but was barely one his feet before being tackled by Uraraka hugging him.

Midoriya stuttered out, "Ura...raka?"

Uraraka said, "It's me, Deku! Are you OK? What happened?!"

She stood up and helped Deku to his feet.

Izuku said, "I don't...know. The last thing I remember was the Imperator meeting with me. Everything after is a white and black haze."

Iida said, "A lot has happened in the last few days. The Imperator has been unmasked and uncorrupted from the Darkness. During that time you were under a dark influence. You were Taken."

Izuku said, "Taken? I don't understand."

Uraraka said, "Half of us were Taken. A weird dark magic had them under the Imperator's control. After he lost the darkness, they were gone."

Iida said, "He took Hagakure, Koda, Jiro, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Ashido, Tokoyami, Todoroki, and Bakugo."

Izuku said, "Kacchan?!"

Iida said, "I know you can't remember much, but, if there's anything you start remembering you need to tell us."

Izuku turned to see Goku.

He said, "Who is that?"

Uraraka said, "That's Goku. An Honorbound member."

Iida said, "Right now we're working with them to find you and fix this world."

 **Daintree Forest**

Xivu Arath appeared fun the middle of the forest, burning a crater in the ground. She smiled and said, "So this is Earth." She took her first step into the dirt, and stretched her limbs. She said, "This body can hit hard. Let's see how fast it can move."

In one jump she lunged forward, seemingly vanishing with her incredible speed, but the wind pressure she created from her movements blew the trees apart as she began running.

 **Honorbound Base**

Midoriya was in base with the group. He said, "I'm sorry. I don't remember anything from when I was Taken."

Kratos said, "Someone sent you back here. You being cured of this corruption and arriving here are no coincidences. The armored boy mentioned before about finding a new leader. Perhaps they found one who sent this child back."

Mimir spoke up from Kratos' belt and said, "If I could add, brother..."

Kratos pulled Mimir's head and held it up. Mimir said, "Perhaps the Impera-...Steven will have some insight. He found this power, so he must know more about their 'new master.'"

"It's Oryx."

Everyone looked at the cage where Steven was. He was awake, and continued. "I was holding that info back before. I'm sorry. After I lost the Darkness, they went to revive the original Taken King, Oryx. I'm pretty sure his family is being revived as well. One of the students had the power to create. There's no limit to the army he can create. Our only chance is to work together. After we finish this, I promise I'll explain everything."


	19. Chapter 19

**Abraxas Palace**

The Honorbound were in the palace. Steven was explaining, "If we combine our forces, we'll be able to fight back against Oryx and whatever army he's built. But the problem is the Taken. I don't know how we can undo the curse, but we can figure something out. I'm going off-world. To find new allies out there and figure out what Oryx is up to. I think it'd be a good idea if some of you stayed here, while the rest of us leave the planet."

Genos said, "Is that really the wisest decision? If Oryx comes here, while our forces are divided, we will be at a disadvantage."

Steven said, "I'll stay in touch, and if I need to, I can come back immediately. Also, the Arbiter is finding reinforcements from other dimensions. Is there anyone who wants to accompany me?"

Connie said, "I'll go. I'm gonna make sure you don't try anything. Where is your ship?"

Steven said, "You're standing on it. I built this temple with flight capabilities, when I was ready to expand this empire. Anyone who wishes to stay or join me, say so now."

In a few minutes, everyone began coming forward to decide who would stay or go.

The only ones who chose to go were Master Chief and Goku. X had BT go with them as well. The rest who chose to stay for various reasons, but mistrust/hatred of the one they still saw as the Imperator was one of the main reason.

The ones who stayed watched from outside the walls of Abraxas, as the temple began to rumble. The entire building collapsed, pieces shifting and moving all around until they were obscured by the buildings and walls. The ground began to shake as a massive ship emerged from Abraxas, floating high above the city. The group observed as the ship tilted itself towards the stars, and flew into space.

Yang turned to the Gems and asked, "Wasn't Steven a friend of yours? Why aren't you going?"

Amethyst said, "I don't know. Him being the guy we've been fighting all this time. It's a lot to take in. I can't be in the same room as him right now. I just need to take some time to process."

Kratos said, "Come, boy. Until they return we will train and prepare for whatever Oryx may send."

Atreus said, "Yes, father."

 **Several hours later**

Kratos and Atreus were training in a forest, far away from Abraxas with Atreus sparring with his father. Their axe and bow were resting against a nearby tree with Mimir's head beside it.. Atreus jumped to deliver multiple punches and kicks that Kratos blocked with ease.

Kratos said, "Your control is improving. If we wish to defeat these Taken, learning to fight without your weapon is just as vital as fighting with it."

A low, feminine voice echoed around them, "I agree. The best warriors make do with the tools placed in front of them."

A shade flashed by their eyes. When Kratos turned behind him, his and Atreus' weapons were gone. Kratos yelled out, "Show yourself!"

The shade came to a halt in front of them, with the axe and bow in its hands. It was Xivu Arath. Standing just a head taller than Kratos, she was examining their tools, noting the runes and markings on them. She said, "An axe and bow charmed with magic. I wonder how they work."

The axe suddenly was ripped out of her hands and flew into Kratos' hand. He said, "Who are you?"

Xivu Arath ignored the question and said, "Ooh. Intriguing. It returns to you on command. I have to see it in action."

Kratos said, "No. I will give you one chance to leave us."

Xivu Arath smiled and said, "To walk away from a fight would be to deny myself. You asked who I was? I am Xivu Arath. Youngest sister to the Taken King and the Goddess of War."

Kratos scowl deepened at her name. She took note of this and said, "Something I said bother you, human? You either know of the Taken King, or dislike the moniker 'Goddess of War'. Either way, this isn't your first time dealing with someone like me."

She threw to bow at Atreus' feet and said, "Pick up the bow, child."

Atreus grabbed the bow and readied an arrow.

Kratos said, "I warned you, goddess."

Xivu Arath smiled and said, "I'll keep that in mind." She stretched out her arm and summoned her sword. She took several steps forward as Kratos prepared himself. In an instant she vanished, and reappeared in front of Kratos, punching him in the stomach, and launching him through several trees. Atreus fired an arrow at her, charged with electricity. She kept her eyes locked on Kratos, and swung her sword to her side, cutting the arrow into two pieces that harmlessly fell beside her. Kratos recovered quicky and threw his axe at her. It successfully landed in her shoulder, weakening her enough so that Atreus could hit her with another arrow.

Kratos took this opportunity to mercilessly assault her with a barrage of blows, knocking her to the ground. He grabbed the axe, pulled it out of her shoulder and used it slice her head clean off in one strike. Atreus was shocked. He said, "So much for Goddess of War."

Her body lurched upwards as a new head grew from her neck stump. Kratos and Atreus jumped back to keep their distance. Xivu Arath seemed unfazed, but what happened next shook the two to their core. She took her sword and it began to break down and shift, before transforming into an exact copy of Kratos' axe.

Kratos said, "Impossible."

Xivu Arath threw the axe at Kratos and he leaned to the side to dodge it. It froze the tree that it hit, before Xivu Arath recalled it the same way Kratos did with his axe. She rushed forward swinging the axe against him. He clashed his axe against her's, but she forced it against the ground, and kicked Kratos in the stomach, knocking him away as the axe was pulled from his hands. In that instant, she turned to Atreus, who had fired another arrow at her. She grabbed it with her free hand, turning her axe into a bow that resembled Atreus'. She fired the arrow from the bow, charged with the light magic Atreus had used before, but not on her.

Atreus only barely jumped out of the way. Kratos' chained blades suddenly pierced her side. The slightest yank pulled her off balance as Kratos rocketed towards her, ramming her in the chest with his shoulder. He landed on the other side of her, kneeling while facing her. Atreus capitalized on this, running and leaping off his crouched back, jumping and flipping over Xivu while firing off two arrows. She dodged to the side, grabbing him out of the air with one hand and slamming him into the ground.

Two hilts appeared on her stomach. She grabbed them both and pulled out small hooked blades.. Two chains unfurled and wrapped around her arms as she pulled them out. She had perfectly recreated Kratos' chain blades. They ignited as she began swinging them by the ends of their chains. The blade wounds in her side healed up as well.

Atreus yelled out, "What's happening? How does she have our weapons?!"

Kratos cooly responded, "I do not know. My concern is with her healing her wounds."

Xivu Arath began twirling the blades like helicopters. She threw them towards the father and son as they jumped away from each other. She relentlessly pursued Kratos who drew his own chain blades. She continuously struck him with fiery blade and chains as he defended against them. Atreus fired more arrows at her and she defended by swinging the chain blades in a whirlwind, ripping the arrows into splinters. Kratos capitalized on this weakness by jumping forward and delivering a bare-fisted blow to her stomach. In rage, she dropped the chain from her hand, and punched Kratos into the ground. She suddenly summoned four small daggers that appeared in the palm of her hand, then threw them out. In one move, the daggers flew into Kratos' hands and legs, pinning him to the ground.

She turned to Atreus who fired multiple arrows at her. She seemed to teleport side to side, ever so slightly closing the distance with Atreus while dodging his arrows. In another move, she was suddenly right by Atreus, thrusting her knee into his stomach, launching him upwards and backwards. He was thrown against the tree, knocking him unconscious. Kratos could only watch as he tried to free himself. He yelled out, "Run away, boy! Stay away!" She summoned Kratos' axe, and raised it to prepare to cut his head off, as Kratos shouted, "NO!". Suddenly, she was stopped by the sound of bouncing nearby.

She turned her head to the noise and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a streak of bright green electricity bouncing between the trees. It bounced off the tree nearest to her and took the shape of Izuku Midoriya, powered up with One-for-All. He yelled out, "Smash!" and struck her in the face with a charged right hook. It managed to make her release Atreus from her grasp, as she stumbled back. Izuku grabbed the unconscious Atreus and turned to Kratos. Kratos yelled, "Get him out of here! Take him somewhere safe!"

Midoriya shouted, "What about you?"

Kratos said, "Never mind me! Keep the boy safe! Go!"

Kratos managed to pull his hand free as Xivu Arath approached him. He tried to punch her but she grabbed his fist, and grabbed him by the neck with her other hand. She began slamming him through the ground and trees.

Midoriya threw Atreus over his back and ran away. He used a free hand, pressing it to his earpiece saying, "This is Izuku Midoriya! I've got Atreus with me. He's unconscious. He and Kratos were just attacked by someone. I don't know who."

Garnet responded, "Where's Kratos?"

Midoriya responded, "Still fighting that someone. He needs help. I'm taking Atreus back."

Garnet said, "Some of the Arbiter's new reinforcements are closest to you. They're headed that way."

"Got it."

Midoriya was stopped by three humanoid figures he spotted out of the corner of his eye. When he came to a stop he clearly saw what they looked like.

One was tall, muscular, teenage man, wearing a long black trench coat adorned with golden buttons, with a formfitting sleeveless shirt underneath. He wore long pants with leather shoes and two belts. On part of the trench coat's collar had a golden chain attached to it. His most prominent feature was his cap, adorned with a golden button and plate. The hat was torn at the back, seemingly fusing into his hair.

The second was a shorter man wearing a Japanese school uniform with a form fitting yellow shirt underneath and two golden adornments. One was a peace sign and the other was a heart. His most striking feature was his purple pompadour hairdo.

The third was the shortest, and a child. He had blond hair with three curls arranged side by side on his head and a braided tail. He wore a pink two-piece suit with his chest showing through the middle. It had three ladybug emblems on the shoulders and stomach of the suit, and golden wing emblems on the outside of the collar.

Izuku said, "Who are you guys?"

The tall man in the hat said, "We were sent by the Arbiter. He already filled us in. The name's Jotaro Kujo."

The man with the pompadour said, "Josuke Higashikata."

The blonde kid said, "Giorno Giovanna."

Izuku responded, "Izuku Midoriya. This is Atreus. He's really hurt."

Josuke said, "Bring him here."

Midoriya laid Atreus down in front of Josuke, who placed his hands on his chest. A golden energy seemed to envelop both of them, as Atreus' wounds began to heal and regenerate. When they were fully healed, Josuke said, "I healed his wounds, but I'd still take him somewhere safe."

Giorno asked, "Where's the enemy?"

Izuku put Atreus on his back, and said, "Just down that way.", while pointing in the direction of Kratos and Xivu Arath's fight.

Jotaro said, "Josuke. Giorno. Let's go!"

The three sprinted in the direction while Izuku ran off with Atreus.

Xivu Arath was mercilessly attacking Kratos with her bare fists. She prepared to go for one more strike but Kratos suddenly vanished before her eyes. She looked around and saw the three reinforcements. Kratos was kneeling beside them as Josuke was healing him. Kratos said, "Who are you?"

Josuke responded, "Backup, big guy."

Xivu Arath was intrigued by the new individuals. They boasted a certain confidence that she found alluring. She turned to them and said, "My, my. Either you're exceptionally powerful or thick-headed."

Jotaro said, "Get out of here if you know what's good for you."

Xivu Arath said, "No. I haven't tested you just yet. I want to see just what you're capable of, and if it's worth that bravado."

Jotaro said, "Bring it on."

Xivu Arath smiled, and charged Jotaro. A voice seemed to emanate from Jotaro's body, shouting out, "ORA!"

Without warning, Xivu Arath was punched in the face by an invisible force. It sent her reeling as she grabbed her face. When she looked at Jotaro, he hadn't moved a muscle. She thought to herself, "What just happened? I kept my eyes on all of them. None of them moved. So what just hit me?"

The voice began shouting its battlecry once more, this time in rapid succession, "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA"

Before she could react Xivu's body was pelted with invisible punches at near machine gun pace. She couldn't see where they were coming from and could not react or counter. With on final "ORA" the mysterious force struck her in the chest knocking her through the trees. She quickly recovered and said, "I need time to understand this power they have. Fighting an enemy I can't see would be suicide. I'll have to retreat for now."

She drew Kratos' chain blades, swinging them in a circle and running them through the dirt. This shot the dirt towards the trio at rapid pace, temporarily blinding them. When the dust settled, she was gone. Jotaro said aloud, "Good fucking grief. She got away."

Josuke said, "We'll get her next time. I finished healing this guy."

The first thing Kratos said upon standing was "Where is my son?"

Giorno said, "That Izuku guy had him. He's taking him to safety, but Josuke already healed his wounds the same way he did yours."

Kratos said, "She will return. A combatant who has honed their skills to that level does not give up a fight so easily."

Jotaro said, "Then we should regroup with the others. We're better fighting together than alone.

Giorno said, "The Arbiter should be returning with some extra help by the time we're back."

Kratos nodded and the four began making their way back to Abraxas.


	20. Chapter 20

**Forest**

Midoriya was running with an unconscious Atreus on his back. He thought to himself, "That fighter. Something's familiar about her."

Without warning, Xivu Arath appeared, running beside him. She rammed into him causing him to drop Atreus as he tumbled into the ground. Xivu Arath said, "Didn't think I'd let fresh meat get away did you?"

Midoriya didn't answer as he stood up. Charging up One for All once more, he readied himself to fight, cracking a smile.

Xivu Arath tilted her head in intrigue. She said, "You have to know how outmatched you are. Yet you smile. Are you happy to face someone leagues above you?"

Midoriya replied, "Of course not. But someone taught me that the stronger heroes are the ones who smile through all the hardships."

She laughed and said, "How delightful. I don't know whether that's genuine resolve or underdeveloped optimism. Especially with what happened to your power."

Midoriya said, "What are you talking about?"

Xivu Arath said, "I had a feeling you wouldn't remember. I am the youngest sister of the Taken King. Your previous master. While you were under his control, he made you tell him about your power. And you gave it to him."

Midoriya's eyes widened. Xivu Arath took advantage of his momentary distraction, charging and striking him in the stomach. When he recovered, he said, "I can't let her distract me." He turned to Atreus to ensure he was still ok. Atreus was slumped over in the dirt, but unharmed. Midoriya turned his gaze back to his opponent, who was making her next move. She hadn't summoned any weapons yet, seemingly going with fisticuffs.

He charged at rapid speed, moving at incredible speed and bouncing off the trees. He charged a punch and swung it downward on Xivu Arath. She punched upwards knocking his fist upward past her head, then kicked him upwards in the gut. He flew back but recovered quickly. Xivu Arath quickly rushed him and gave him little time to recover. He was able to jump back right before she slammed on the ground, shattering it to pieces. The pieces flew upward and she punched them towards Midoriya, forcing him to jump back again.

"She won't even give me a chance to breathe. She's so fast.", he thought.

More of the pieces flew towards him and he turned his hand, preparing to flick his finger. He charged One for All into his finger, and flicked it, creating wind pressure that deflected the pieces. It wasn't enough to slow down Xivu Arath's advance as she charged him again. She successfully landed a clothesline and slammed him into another tree.

Midoriya fell to the ground, coughing from the damage his throat and back had just received. Xivu Arath pinned him under her foot. "Impressive. You lasted 30 seconds longer than I thought you would. But it seems you're spent." Midoriya struggled to stand and said, "No. I can still fight. I can still work to protect them!"

"Your power fades away by the minutes. You can't save everyone. It's pure vanity to still think you can.", she sneered. Midoriya charged One for All to 100% through his arm. He slammed the ground throwing the two of them into the air. This released Xivu Arath's grip. He spun through the air, kicking her in the face launching her back. He landed and slid on the ground, looking up to see her flying away through the air. Suddenly, she summoned Kratos' chain blades, throwing them to the ground and pulling herself towards it. Midoriya jumped back to avoid her strike. Xivu Arath said, "Impressive. I didn't see that coming."

Midoriya was grabbing his arm in pain, which Xivu Arath took note of. She said, "But it seems using that much power was less than beneficial to yourself. A cruel irony. You must break yourself to get any use out of your power. Especially against a much stronger adversary that you face alone."

"He's not alone, though.", a childish voice said.

The two combatants looked to the source. It was a young looking boy with blond hair and green eyes. He wore a long-sleeved, high-collared white tunic over an undershirt, a pair of gloves, knee-length black pants, and black boots. In his left hand he held a short sword with seven holes along its green blade and a golden hilt. He was just an inch shorter than Midoriya.

Next to him was an older guy with grey hair, and a red coat with an open collar exposing his chest along with red leather pants and boots. He was as tall as a man.

On his other side was an even younger boy with short brown hair, who was floating on a green leopard pattern pillow. He wore a long orange and aqua sweatshirt with a hood and navy blue sleeves, quarter-length navy blue pants, and short boots with large buttons matching his hoodie. He was a head shorter than Midoriya.

Xivu Arath said, "New combatants? Exciting! May I ask your names?"

The blonde haired boy said to Xivu Arath, "My name's Meliodas. Dragon Sin of wrath."

The grey haired man said, "Ban. Fox Sin of greed."

The brown haired boy said, "Fairy King Harlequin. But you can call me King. Grizzly's Sin of Sloth."

Meliodas said with optimistic naïveté, "So, you're the big troublemaker Thel told us about, huh?"

In the blink of an eye, Meliodas rushes forward, striking Xivu Arath in the stomach and sending her flying through the trees. Midoriya's eyes were wide with his display of power. Meliodas walked to him and said, "Are you ok, kid?"

Midoriya said, "Yeah. That was amazing."

Meliodas smiled and said, "Just one of the perks of living for 3,000 years as the son of the demon king."

Midoriya said, "Wait, what?!"

Xivu Arath you're back through the trees as Ban said, "Story for another time. Look alive, kid!" He pulled out a staff split into three sections, connected by a chain, and he swung it like nunchucks.

King levitated off the pillow and waved his hand. It transformed into a levitating spear that he controlled with his mind. He said, "Chastiefol, first configuration! Spear!"

Midoriya charged One for All to 8%. His arm was still broken but he clenched his fist to continue the fight.

Xivu Arath drew Kratos' frost axe in one hand and her sword in the other. She charged through the space in the trees. King launched his spear at her, and she slid down ducking under it while holding her sword above her. The spear grinded along her sword as they slid past each other. When it finishes she Ban jumped over head to attack Xivu Arath with his staff. She used the axe to hook the staff and pull it to the ground beside her, kicking him through the stomach. It burst out of his back, impaling him. She then rotated and threw him off her foot into the tree.

Midoriya yelled, "Ban!" Meliodas said, "He'll be fine! Come on!"

Meliodas charged and began clashing swords with Xivu Arath. Her speed and strength were noticeably greater than before. It allowed her to keep up with him and not be overpowered. Midoriya tried to attack but she easily dodged his coming kicks while blocking Meliodas' sword strikes. He suddenly dropped his sword, and Xivu Arath's sword swung right between his hand and sword. He grabbed it again and used her momentary vulnerability to his advantage. He quickly stabbed her in the side then ripped his sword through her torso. Black blood sprayed across the forest.

Ban was knocked against the tree by Xivu's kick. He slowly healed, his body regenerating as he stood back up. He grunted and said, "Ok. She's faster than I thought."

King shouted, "Chastiefol, fifth configuration! Increase!"

From behind a storm of knives controlled by King flew from behind. He had transformed his spear into them. Xivu Arath began to regenerate from Meliodas' strike. She used Kratos' chain blades and spun it incredibly fast. This allowed her to deflect the blades. She used her other hand to grab Meliodas and slam him into the ground. She did all of this while evading Midoriya's kicks. When the blades receded, she turned the spinning chain blade and hit Midoriya with the chain, throwing him back.

With her moment to recuperate, her body began to shift and she pulled a hilt from her stomach. This formed into Meliodas sword. Meliodas jumped back from her, frowned and said in a more serious tone, "She copied Lostvayne..."

King said, "You don't think she copied it's power do you?"

Midoriya said, "Are you talking about the sword! What's its power?"

She grabbed the blades with both hands, and before their eyes, she split into multiple copies of herself. When she finished, there were now five of her standing ready to fight.

Ban groaned and said, "Aw, hell no!"

The four clones charged the four heroes. Midoriya was kept on the defensive against one, evading its swings. Meliodas blocked the attacks of another, and King summoned his spear once more using it to defend himself. Ban swung his staff rapidly around to to block another clones coming attacks.

Midoriya yelled, "They're slower than she is."

Meliodas explained, "When I create copies they're always weaker than me. And they get weaker the more of them I make."

Midoriya ducked under the clone's grab and flipped backwards, kicking it square in the chin. It flew back and exploded into smoke. Ban managed to strike another in the head, destroying it as well. Meliodas easily impaled the third one through the stomach, and King used his spear and stabbed the last one through the back.

Midoriya said, "I think that's the last of them."

They looked around and found the original Xivu Arath had vanished.

Ban sighed and said, "She just used those clones as a distraction."

Midoriya's first thoughts were of Atreus. He turned back and saw Atreus still unconscious by the tree. He ran over to him and said, "He's badly hurt. We need to carry him back."

King turned his spear into a pillow and said, "Rest him on here. I can carry him to the Boar Hat. Elizabeth can heal them there."

Meliodas picked him up and placed him on the pillow. Ban picked up Midoriya and carried him on his back. Midoriya said, "I can walk."

Ban said, "Kid, you're in no condition to be walking. You're arm's busted and you just took an absolute beating."

As they started walking (or floating in King's case with Atreus resting on the pillow floating behind him)

Midoriya asked, "How did you guys know where we were?"

Meliodas smiled and said, "We didn't, but it wasn't that hard to track you when you were flying in the air and making all that noise"

King asked, "What was that power you were using?"

Midoriya explained, "it's a power that lets me increase my strength and speed. But using too much of it causes me to break my body. I used it at 100% in my arm. That's why it looks like this. 8% is the highest I can go right now without hurting myself. But that girl we fought. She said her brother made me give him my power when he had me under his control. I don't know how much longer I'll have this before it fades away."

Meliodas said, "Well, the best thing you can do is use it as much as you can before it's gone."

Midoriya began feeling the fatigue of the fight as he was about to pass out. The last thing he said before falling asleep was "Yeah."


	21. Chapter 21

**Boar Hat**

Midoriya woke up in a bedroom. His arm was completely healed and his fatigue was gone. Atreus was also healed of his injuries. Midoriya's chest and arm were wrapped in bandages, and he was only wearing shorts. He got up and walked out of the door. He found himself in what looked like a restaurant. There was an entry way to his right and a bar to his left, and between the two were several round tables. Meliodas and Ban were behind the counter. A young woman with long white hair covering one of her eyes was cleaning the tables. She wore a slightly revealing pink button up shirt and a black skirt. She turned to Midoriya and said, "Oh wonderful! You're awake!"

Meliodas and Ban turned and saw him. Meliodas said, "Hey! How are you feeling?"

Midoriya said, "Better, I guess. Where am I?"

Meliodas explained, "You're in the Boar Hat."

Midoriya said, "We need to get back to Abraxas. Make sure everyone's ok!"

The white haired woman said, "We are at Abraxas."

Midoriya replied, "Wait, what? How?"

Ban said, "Let's just say this place has a way of moving on its own."

Midoriya looked out the window and saw they were just outside Abraxas' walls. Among familiar faces were several new ones.

Meliodas walked up to Midoriya, and pointed out four of the new faces. One was a tall boy with yellow eyes and short pink hair on his feminine voice. He wore a a white shirt with gray long sleeves over a black cropped tank top as well as a pair of dark pants and short grey boots. He also wore glasses and had a very androgynous figure. He explained, "That's Gowther. Goat's Sin of Lust."

Another was a very skinny man with glasses, short brown hair and a very emaciated body. He wore a suit and bowtie. Meliodas said, "That's Escanor, Lion's Sin of Pride."

Another was an incredibly large woman wearing a leather, short-sleeve, orange one piece suit. Meliodas said, "That giant is Diane. The Serpent's Sin of Envy."

The fourth new face was a slim, tall woman in an incredibly revealing fur coat, and thigh high boots. Meliodas said, "That's Merlin. The Boar's Sin of Gluttony. Together, we form the Seven Deadly Sins in our world."

A large pig walked out and began speaking in a high pitch voice. "Hi there. You must be one of the new guys! My name is Hawk!"

Midoriya's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. The white haired woman walked up to him and said, "How rude of me! My name is Elizabeth Liones."

Midoriya said, "I'm Izuku Midoriya. You guys have a talking pig!"

Meliodas explained, "He's the captain of scrap patrol! Here, I made you something. I figured you'd be hungry."

He brought out an apple pie on a plate with a fork and said, "Enjoy!"

Midoriya sat down and grabbed the fork, taking a bite out of the pie. He chewed it for a few seconds, and his eyes suddenly burst open. What followed was the sudden expulsion of food from his mouth and stomach caused by the extremely low quality of Meliodas' cooking.

Hawk roamed the floors and began eating the slop that was all around them now.

Ban brought out another apple pie and said, "Maybe this will be more to your liking."

Midoriya grunted and doubled over in pain. He forced out of his mouth, "no...I-I'm good, right now!"

The door to the Boar Hat flew open and Uraraka walked in with Iida and Atreus.

Uraraka hugged Midoriya and said, "I'm so glad you're ok!"

Iida said, "Kratos, Atreus and Meliodas already told us everything. We're glad to see you made a full recovery."

Midoriya asked, "That warrior. Where is she now?"

Iida said, "We don't know. We're trying to contact Steven and Connie. But they aren't answering. They may be dealing with something else."

Midoriya said, "Who knows how much longer she'll stay in hiding."

Iida said, "In the meantime, you should get dressed and come meet our new allies."

 **Outside Abraxas**

Midoriya was walking around introducing himself to some of the new allies with Uraraka. They came across a pair of boys speaking with Jotaro. He said, "Well it's about time you woke up, kid."

One of the boys was lighter skinned with brown eyes and black spiked hair. He wore a green jacket with green shorts and green boots. He said, "I'm Gon. Gon Freecss"

The other had much paler skin with white hair and blue eyes. He wore a white shirt with a blue long-sleeve turtleneck underneath purple shorts and purple shoes. He said, "Killua Zoldyck."

"Izuku Midoriya."

Gon said, "We were just talking to Mr. Jotaro about his stand."

Izuku said, "His what?"

Gon said, "In our world, we use aura power called Nen. It's spiritual energy. He says his stand is the same idea. A spiritual person they control that can fight for them. That's why we're the only ones who can see it!"

Jotaro said, "My stand is called Star Platinum. Its got strength, speed, precision, and can stop time for about 3 or 4 seconds. Any longer puts too much strain on my heart. Something you should know about stands is that any damage they take gets reflected back to the user. Star Platinum breaks his fingers, mine get broken too."

Izuku said, "But if Oryx and the Taken can't see it, that could give you a huge advantage."

Jotaro said, "It already did. Last time I fought Xivu Arath, she had to retreat because of that."

Josuke and Giorno walked up. Josuke said, "My stand is called Crazy Diamond. Same strength and speed, but mine can fix anyone and anything broken."

Giorno said, "My stand is called Gold Experience. It doesn't have much in strength. But it can create anything organic or alive. And when it hits someone, their senses go berserk. It makes the next punch hurt even more."

Gon smiled and said, "Those all sound really useful!"

Izuku said, "If your stands give us the advantage, you should be at the forefront of the attack."

Josuke explained, "Our stands are close range types, so they can only go about 2 meters away from us. Getting that close to her could be really dangerous."

Izuku said, "All of us together could give you the openings you need. She heals so fast though, I don't know how we'd do any lasting damage."

Killua said, "I can find her and watch her. Maybe figure out a weakness."

Giorno said, "Somebody should go with you."

Killua explained, "It'd probably be best I go on my own, too many people on a stealth mission makes it easier to get spotted."

Giorno reached into his back pocket and pulled out a turtle. It had a golden key in its shell with a red spherical gem on the end. He said, "This is how we can go with you. Inside that gem is a pocket dimension that serves as a room. As long as you carry this with you, you can take as many of us as you need, and still be the only one actually moving. So long as this key remains in its shell the room exists, but if the key falls out we all get shot out. If things get dicey we can show up and help you fight back."

Killua's eyes widened as he took the turtle and said, "Huh, alright then. You should start gathering people. Mostly the strongest fighters."

Izuku said, "I'll go with you guys."

Jotaro said, "You just barely came to like 10 minutes ago, and by the looks of it you tried Meliodas' cooking. You're in no shape to fight right now. If there's anything we should know about her though, you should tell us before we head out."

Izuku began explaining, "I remember she was using Kratos' weapons at one point, and even started using Meliodas' sword. It's like she only needed to see them or get hit by them to copy them. She could even copy the magical powers or abilities the weapon had."

Killua said, "That's valuable info. We should stick with people who are strong without their weapons, and don't rely on them."

Josuke and Giorno walked off to converse with the rest of the group around them. Josuke said, "Remember, Giorno. We're looking for the best fighters, not just who has the biggest stick."

Giorno nodded.

Josuke walked over to Ruby and Yang with the Gems. Yang was sparring with Garnet, both swiftly evading each others blows, perfectly synced and countering like a ballet. Josuke said, "Hey ladies!" and they stopped their sparring to turn to Josuke. Garnet said, "You're one of the new ones. Josuke, right?"

He replied, "Yeah. Josuke. That kid with the white hair, Killua, is putting a group together to spy on Xivu Arath. We found out from Izuku that she copies weapons, so we're going pure fisticuffs." Yang and Garnet smiled and said in unison, "We're in!" Yang took the two golden bracelets on her wrists and gave them to Ruby. She said, "Watch these for me until I get back!" Ruby said, "I will!"

Garnet said, "If this is a spying mission why do you need us?"

Josuke said, "In case things get dicey. We'll be hiding in a turtle that Killua will hold with him while he's doing the spying."

Yang blinked and said, "I'm sorry hiding in a what?"

Josuke said, "It's easier to see it than for me to explain it. Just go over to Killua."

Giorno walked to Diane and Toph, who were conversing.

Diane said, "As a giant, I'm always connected with the earth, so I can manipulate it and shape it with my Creation ability."

Toph said, "I'm connected to the earth too, in more ways than one. I'm an earth bender. Moving and throwing rocks is easy for me."

Diane said, "Maybe we should hold that up to a challenge?"

Toph said, "I'm in. What's the challenge?"

Giorno said, "Maybe you both will be happy about this challenge. We're leaving soon to scout out Xivu Arath. It's not likely we'll actually fight her, but having a solid amount of backup if things go south will be helpful."

Toph smiled and said, "I'm in. Let's see what this goddess is made of!"

Diane said, "Me too! Although, I'm not sure how I'm gonna help in a spy mission."

Kirishima yelled out, "We're in, too!"

He was walking with Kirishima, Ojiro, and Sato. He said, "You need fist fighters right? We'll be there on the frontlines with you!"

 **A few moments later...**

Yang, Garnet, Toph, Diane, Gon, Jotaro, Josuke, Kirishima, Ojiro, and Sato were gathered and Giorno brought out the turtle.

He said, "Reach into the red gem, and you'll enter a secret pocket room hidden inside. Gravity stays the same, so you won't have to worry about keeping it upright, Killua. Just make sure the key stays in its shell. If it moves, we'll all be forcefully ejected, which would obviously not be good for a stealth mission."

Killua nonchalantly said, "Got it. If all goes well, we shouldn't even have to fight, but we'll at least be ready for a fight, just in case."

Each of the members reached towards the gem, and they suddenly found themselves warping and shrinking into the gem. When the sudden speed stopped, they found themselves in a small room. It had a closet, a table in the center with a couch and chairs as well as a mini-fridge against the wall. Killua remained on the outside.

Giorno explained, "The fridge is stocked with snacks and drinks if you guys get hungry. Be sure to keep your voice down, as the outside world can hear you if you talk loud enough. Also, don't reach up, as that'll throw you out of the turtle as well."

Diane was surprised by the fact that she was now the same height as everyone else. She said, "I didn't even have to ask Merlin for any magic to shrink me down."

Josuke said, "I guess its spatial proportion magic to keep us in the gem."

Killua picked up the turtle and said, "Everyone ok in there?"

Gon looked up, smiled and gave a thumbs up. "We're all good! Let's get going!"

Jotaro said, "The last time we fought her was out in a forest south of here. Let's go there first."

Killua nodded. He took a deep breath and electricity began surging through his body. Soon, his entire body glowed and was covered in an electrical current. He then began running at lightning speed, resembling an actual streak of lightning.


End file.
